The Chico State Wildcats women’s softball team aims to start its season strong this year at the Concordia Kickoff Classic over the weekend. A competition that they dominated last year.
The ’Cats went 5-0 at the competition last season, finishing as the only team without a loss. Amelie Valdez won the award for California Collegiate Athletic Association pitcher of the week. She started three games at the Classic and struck out 21 batters over 20 innings, without giving up an earned run.
The competition is held in Irvine, Calif., and includes 25 teams that will play over 60 games from Friday to Sunday.
Coach Angel Shamblin is returning for her fifteenth season as head coach at Chico State. She boasts an impressive record of 423-232 with 10 postseason appearances. She said her goal entering a new season is always to improve upon the results of the last two seasons.
Chico State finished last season with an overall record of 22-24, but their conference record of 14-22 placed them ninth out of 10 teams. The top six teams make the CCAA playoffs.
Two rough spells doomed the ’Cats last season. After a strong start, the team lost seven of eight games during the first half of its season and then dropped 11 of the last 14 games.
The pitching staff should be one of the strengths for the ’Cats this year. The team is returning all of its pitchers from last season. Shamblin expects to have a group that can repeat their previous success. In conference play last season, the team finished with the second lowest era at 2.34 and led the conference with only 88 walks conceded.
The coach is confident in the depth of the bullpen and is comfortable adjusting plans depending on the opponent.“With the fact that we have so many different looks within our pitching staff, we can attack a lot of different lineups,” Shamblin said.
The ’Cats have been working hard on the fundamentals of hitting and defense, two categories that, statistically, the team struggled with at times in conference play last season.
“I think whenever you put time into something over and over again, and you have experience with that, with this group, that you’re only going to improve,” Shamblin said.
Valdez, now a senior, will be the cornerstone of the pitching staff. She finished last season as one of the top pitchers in the conference with an era of 2.40 over 137 innings.
She doesn’t worry much about statistics, though. Her focus this season is on winning as many games as possible while having as much fun as she can, especially with the fellow seniors she’s spent so much time becoming close with.
Valdez loves the bonds that the team has been able to create. She feels like she has a genuine connection with her team, relating them to a family that gives her even more confidence on the mound.
“I think that as a pitcher, you’re only as good as your catcher,” Valdez said. “Bri [Swihart] provides a lot of confidence for me behind the plate, and she always picks me up if I’m down or gives me the tips and tricks that will help me with my pitches.”
Senior catcher Brianna Swihart has started nearly every game behind the plate since arriving at Chico State as a freshman. She and Valdez will be a prolific battery for the ’Cats this year, and they are also roommates off the field.
“I could catch Amelie with my eyes closed, and I always know how to support her in whatever way she needs. We’ve caught hundreds of innings together, and that level of trust and familiarity makes everything feel natural behind the plate,” Swihart said. “While we’ve had our ups and downs, she’s truly like a sister to me, which only strengthens our connection on the field.
Swihart believes her experience and perspective will help her connect with the pitching staff, especially during preparatory bullpen work.
“I understand that every pitcher is different and has unique needs, and I take pride in adjusting my approach to help each of them be as successful and confident as possible,” Swihart said.
Junior shortstop, Aiyana Curry was one of the top hitters in the conference last season. She finished with seven home runs and a .338 batting average. She hopes to hit double-digits in home runs this season.
Curry said that she didn’t get hot until the second half of the season last year and is hoping to cut down on her strikeouts and improve her consistency.
“I’ve been working on pitch selection and being more aggressive earlier in the count so I can be in control of my at-bats, instead of leaving control up to the pitcher or the umpire,” Curry said.
As the starting shortstop, she hopes to lead an improved infield this season.
“Our infield has been putting in so much work this off-season, we are looking really connected and are steadily improving with our communication every day,” Curry said. “The biggest thing, again, is consistency. We know we can be great; we just need to have the focus and resilience in order to stay great.”
As excited as Shamblin is to start the new season and to see the results from all the hard work the team has put in, she believes the best part of coaching Chico State women’s softball is the people she gets to spend time with.
“I love the game of softball. It’s given me so much in my life, so I love to give back to it. But for me, it’s about growth and watching people develop as human beings,” Shamblin said.
The team’s first home game will be against Jessup at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14. Students are granted free entry with their Chico State student ID card or Canvas home page.
For information about all Chico State athletics or to keep up with the game live, visit the Wildcat home page, or watch through FloSports.
Note: Aiyana Curry is the sports editor for The Orion. She did not take part in the editorial process for this article.
Sean Shanks can be reached at [email protected].
