SENIOR TAYA DE ALBA may be the best pitcher in the Tri-County Athletic League.
Now that Zoe Conley is out of the way, the path to the Tri-County Athletic League and North Coast Section championships appears to be open for the St. Patrick-St. Vincent High varsity softball team.
Conley, who pitched Salesian past the Lady Bruins in last year’s TCAL championship game and NCS Division IV title game, is now playing for Cal State Northridge. SPSV, meanwhile, has 6-of-9 starters returning from a team that went 9-1 in the TCAL and 24-6 overall. Ten of SPSV’s 13 players on the 2015 roster played varsity last season.
Leading the way is senior pitcher Taya de Alba, who assumes the throne as the best pitcher in the TCAL. The senior captain was an All-TCAL First Team selection and has already signed to play for Portland State University after graduation. She’ll likely hit in the middle of the lineup and can play first base or outfield when not on the pitching rubber.
“She carried us a lot last year,” SPSV coach Rich Gigliotti said of de Alba. “As long as we play good defense behind her, we should be OK. She hit well last year and I think she’ll hit even better this year. And her pitching will be fine. She kept us in every game last year and I don’t think she ever got hit hard.”
Juniors Olivia Soley and Cecily Kaluza return as backup pitchers. Soley will probably start at first base when de Alba is pitching while Kaluza will also see time in the outfield.
“They really haven’t had much of a chance to pitch because Taya has been so consistent, but we’re going to give them a chance to step up and grab the bull by the horns,” Gigliotti said. “We’re lucky enough to have three pitchers and they’re all pretty good.”
Defense has been SPSV’s strength in recent years and 2015 should be no different. Senior Jennifer Adams is the league’s best defensive second baseman while veterans Neenah Pangilinan (First Team All-TCAL) and Marisa Avalos add depth in the middle infield. Of the three, two will play middle infield while the other finds a spot in the outfield.
“There’s no significant difference defensively between the three,” Gigliotti noted.
Chelsea Mari, the only freshman on the roster, has already nabbed the starting job at third base.
“She’s a really good player,” Gigliotti said. “She’s smart, quick and very athletic.”
Junior Jaydee Boursaw moves from third base to catcher and is SPSV’s best power threat at the plate. Boursaw will likely hit cleanup most of the year, with de Alba hitting behind her.
Veteran Natalia Ocon currently holds down the third outfield spot, but sophomore rookies Cydney Hampton and Maria Borges are battling for playing time. Veteran senior Adriana Vargas is versatile enough to play any position other than pitcher of catcher. Junior veteran Tori Enderiz adds depth to the infield.
“It’ll be tough finding spots for everybody, which is a good problem to have,” Gigliotti said. “Everyone deserves playing time. We’ll probably play everybody for the first few weeks before settling on a more consistent lineup.”
Offense may be SPSV’s only weakness. The Lady Bruins have to replace the production of Dot Bibb, Zaria Meshack and Nicci Barker, who each graduated last spring. Boursaw and de Alba will be expected to deliver RBIs throughout the season.
Even with Conley gone, the TCAL still has plenty of teams ready to challenge the Lady Bruins for the championship. Salesian and Albany have strong programs every year, while teams like Pinole Valley and St. Mary’s are expected to be improved.
“I think the league will be pretty even, but if we play as well as we did last year, we’ll be really, really good,” Gigliotti said.
The Lady Bruins open the season Thursday at Berean Christian and host St. Helena on March 3.
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Steve I worked with you many times when my Taylor went to SPSV. Although we are from the area my youngest goes to Salesian. She is there because they have the better softball program of the two schools. It My Madison Pozzi is a two time All League and has called every pitch for the last two years. Winning back to back NCS Championships. She also scored the only runs in the last NCS game and went 3 for 3. Over the past 2 years she has face Taya about 24 times. She has home runs, triples, countless doubles and singles and has only struck out once in two years. I think she is a force and a problem for SPSV for the next two years! We also have Megan Bradbury and Mariah Shuchart who are also hit Taya multiple time and hard! Mariah didn’t pitch a lot because Zoe was the Senior starter but she won every game she did pitch. Zoe is gone but we are still the two time defending NCS champions. Please don’t write anymore articles putting down our team. You can build SPSV without mentioning us and when you do mention us have your facts right! If you need my number again it’s 707-655-9461. We are a lot more than Zoe and before you crown Taya as queen watch Mariah pitch, she is much faster and very accurate. When they beat us then they can talk until then…..Salesian is the defending champion and we only lost 1 player not our catcher and entire outfield like SPSV. Take care!
People I am going to apologize to Taya, Diana, and the SPSV team for my rant this morning. In trying to make my point I hurt people and that was not my intention. On the way to school this morning my kid read this article and she was hurt by it. I don’t think you have to put another team down to write an article about the local team. His facts were wrong, I don’t know if the coaches are to blame for this or if he just wrote without asking any questions. Salesian and it’s players should never have been mentioned in this article. Unfortunately I let my anger get the best of me and when I went back and read what I wrote I was guilty of the same thing. Taya’s name didn’t need to be mentioned for me to make my point. My bad. I am a Taya fan and I think she is a great pitcher, I always have. I am truly sorry and I again apologize to Taya and Dianna. Having said that, my feelings are the same for those that fuel the fire by giving false and one sided information; and those writing these negative, hurtful articles. It really needs to stop. Let the kids play.
Another example of how parents are ruining kids athletic programs.
I am so disgusted by this woman’s comments about Taya. I am a friend of the deAlba family. Taya is a hard working, great student and a respectable young lady. How dare this woman put down Taya and all her achievements. That article was about the St Pats team and their awesome starting pitcher. It had nothing to do with that woman’s daughter. No one cares about her daughters stats. How dare her, this is so gross. This woman’s rant is purely about her being salty of Taya and her accomplishments. There were NO wrong facts in this article. There was nothing negative or hurtful in this article. This article is 100%%% correct!!! This woman needs to read the article again, it was well written. And they talked highly about all the schools that St Pats will be playing.
Parents need to stay out of it, point blank!!! And for you to say you are a Taya fan, is so disgusting. If I were Taya I would not want a fan like you at all.
Every high school puts in an article about their team and what they are expecting their players to do in that season. Get over yourself, NOONE CARES ABOUT YOUR DAUGHTER AND HER STATS!!!!! This was a St Pats article not a Salesians article.
You go ahead Taya and do your thing, we on this side of the bridge, are so proud of you, and like reading about you in the paper every day.
We can’t wait to hear about all your success when you head to Portland State to play softball. Benicia Herald please keep us all updated on Taya deAlba.
Salesian is mentioned twice in the article: Conley, who pitched Salesian past the Lady Bruins in last year’s TCAL championship game and NCS Division IV title game
And Salesian and Albany have strong programs every year
There may indeed have been an over-reaction because neither of those comments sound like a put down of the Salesian team.