Orestimba High softball head coach Joaquin Marroquin has many players returning this season.
His Warriors are also looking to battle in the Trans-Valley League.
“We are excited to be part of the TVL,” Marroquin said. “There’s nothing better than being challenged every game and TVL will bring that.”
Here is a look at this year’s Orestimba squad.
Returning players
Headlining the 11 players back this season are shortstop/outfielder Mariah Avila and third baseman Sophia Machado, both of whom are seniors.
“Both players led the with RBIs last season and played a major role in last season’s offensive success,” said Marroquin, whose Warriors posted an 11-3 record in their final season of the Southern Athletic League for a second place finish and 19-7 overall.
Cayla Finley, now a sophomore, is coming back from an early season injury in 2024.
“She is already proving she’ll be an offensive weapon as well this year,” said Marroquin of Finley.
In the circle, Hailey Starr, a junior, is back. She led the SAL with 97 strikeouts with a combined 10 wins. Starr is also recovering from an injury in 2024. Marroquin notes she’s now pitching at 100 percent.
Other key defensive players are center fielder Hannah Taft and right fielder Lexi Alves, both of whom had no errors during the 2024 campaign.
Newcomers
In high school softball, teams need, at least, two pitchers or more who can step into the circle.
Orestimba has just that. Ellery Gustafson, a freshman, who has seen some action this season.
“She brings a magnitude of different pitches, hits well and can play both infield and outfield,” said Marroquin of Gustafson.
Another freshman in second baseman Rae Oliveros has adjusted well to varsity play thus far, the Warriors head coach notes.
“She covers second base very well and has a quick release,” Marroquin said.
Salece Machado has already been utilized in both the infield and outfield this season and is showing promising play.
“She’s a well-rounded player with incredible athleticism,” said Marroquin of Machado.
The fact of reality is that Marroquin speaks highly of his three freshmen.
“All three freshmen bring with them years of travel ball experience as well, which has prepared them for varsity play,” Marroquin said.
Strengths
Marroquin feels that “as a team, our biggest strength is experience. Ninety-four percent of our roster has travel ball experience. In addition to advanced skills that many of our players possess, the game experience has proven to be an overall team strength as well.
“With the numerous games played, they have gained valuable game situational awareness such as bunt coverages, cut-offs, and offensive situational play. Having this knowledge has allowed us to spend extra time on other areas needed for improvement.”
Areas of improvement
This season, Orestimba, which is 2-5 in the early season, have one area of concern on defense.
“Last year, we suffered 51 errors, and we currently have 16 for this season is just seven games,” Marroquin said. “During practice, we implement various drills and exercises to provide high reps in both fielding and throwing with an emphasis on glove work and fielding technique. This is an area that we will continue to work on during the season.”
The Warriors head coach said that he and his assistant coaches are looking very closely at positions.
“If lineup changes are needed to address our fielding concerns, then we will implement some changes as well,” Marroquin said.
TVL
Marroquin feels that the TVL title “is up for anyone this season.”
He continued, “All teams will be a challenge as each has their own strength and each team, including ourselves, should be considered a threat. Our tough pre-season schedule has prepared us for TVL, and I’m optimistic that we will be there at the end competing for a TVL title.”
Orestimba has played, and continues to play, from bigger leagues in the preseason in getting ready for TVL action.
“Our five losses have been to well-respected teams; all five teams we lost to have only five combined losses,” said Marroquin, whose squad has lost to Tracy, Gregori of Modesto, Mountain House, Los Banos and Oakdale. “Some of our losses were close games where our errors played a major role in the outcome. We saw some great positives as well; we’ve been making good contact off some highly talented recruited pitchers in the area. Our pitching as well has kept some of these section and state ranked teams in check.”
Ripon won the TVL title in 2024. Livingston, which is now a member of the Western Athletic Conference that is Division IV, took second place in the TVL. The TVL is D-V.
Upcoming games
Entering the next two non-league games – Tuesday, Orestimba hosted Patterson and play at Pacific Grove on Friday – Marroquin is looking for his team to earn more hits and play an error free game.
“We are looking at moving a few players around to see if it leads to different results,” Marroquin said.
Mike Bush is a multimedia journalist who was born and raised in the Stanislaus and Merced County areas. Follow him on X/Twitter @MikeBMultimedia and Instagram @mikebushmedia.
