It’s been somewhat of a rebuilding season for Scotts Valley High sophomore Taylor Wilson and the Falcons softball team.
They might be a young squad, but don’t let their youth and inexperience fool you.
Wilson has given Scotts Valley some quality at-bats, including a three-run home run in a 9-8 loss to Aptos High in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play March 24.
Despite the loss, Wilson can sense her teammates are starting to realize the potential they have to accomplish some big things this year.
“I think we’ll go on throughout the season to get better and better,” she said.
Wilson said they’ve managed to turn on the afterburners and they continue to make plays even through some of the mishaps.
Scotts Valley coach Jeremy Wilson said the offense has been hit and miss, yet he believes they’re trending in the right direction.
“I think they’re just trying to find their way right now,” he said.
The first-year skipper is still impressed with their ability to score runs and now they just have to be able to consistently do it and put pressure on opponents.
Wilson mentioned the biggest challenge for them is trying to close out games after starting off so well.
The Falcons’ pitching crew has given up too many walks, which then puts runners on base. Then they’ll give up the base hit or an error at the wrong time.
“We just have to play a complete game and stop making mistakes or just limit the mistakes,” Wilson said.
Scotts Valley has just two seniors and four juniors on the roster. The majority of its impact players are underclassmen including sophomores Gracie Delgado and Jazmyn Doubek.
“It’ll be neat to see them grow over the next couple of years together,” Wilson said.
However, having a young team also means there will be some inexperience. Especially when a game might get out of control and the players aren’t able to settle down to let the mistakes go.
“They still kind of internalize the mistakes,” Wilson said. “I think that comes with maturity. They got to be able to make a mistake and then flush it right out, move on.”
Taylor Wilson said she’d like to stay consistent throughout the season after coming off a subpar year as a freshman.
“I think I just started getting burnt out because we practiced everyday and there’s like a ton of games,” she said. “I feel my fundamentals were breaking down.”
Scotts Valley will compete in the SCCAL against familiar foes in Aptos, Harbor, Santa Cruz, Soquel and San Lorenzo Valley, the favorites to win the league crown.
The season is still young and the ultimate goal for Wilson is to get on base at least once a game until it snowballs into something bigger. Jeremy Wilson added he just wants to see the Falcons continue to grow and to limit the mistakes.
“Be able to keep ourselves in games when we’re in games,” he said. “We have a chance to be in games, we just have to find a way to stay in the game.”
