The last time Chico State Softball played a game was March 8, 2020, against San Francisco State. The Wildcats won 5-3.

Recently, they got back out on the field to practice and start preparing for the upcoming season in Spring 2022. 

“Just because I’m older doesn’t mean I can’t learn stuff from them.”

senior catcher Sara Mitrano

Some new faces on the team include sophomore Alexandria Allen.

“From what I can see so far, she’s been a great teammate,” head coach Angel Shamblin said. “She fits in well with our culture and we’re excited to see what the future holds.”

Allen’s entire freshman season got wiped out by COVID-19. However, she has remained positive and excited to start a new season.

“It was very difficult at first,” Allen said. “The positivity I think all came from what was actually the team. We had our Zoom meetings. That really helped me stay in the positive sense and just look forward to what’s to come for this sophomore season.”

Allen has learned from her fellow catcher Sara Mitrano, a senior who will soon graduate from Chico State. 

“We have Alex and then we also have a true freshman, her name is Lanie [Blomquist],” Mitrano said. “I do plan on sitting down with them sometime this fall, writing down our goals and going over what we want to work on this fall.”

Mitrano said mentoring younger players is a two-way street. 

“Just because I’m older doesn’t mean I can’t learn stuff from them,” Mitrano said. “I want to learn from them as well. I definitely think that sitting down and going over that stuff with them would be beneficial for our team and for them in the future.”

With the Delta variant of COVID-19 still spreading rapidly throughout the U.S., no one can guarantee a full season. Mitrano wants her teammates to cherish these moments back on the diamond. .

“We do have a little while until our season starts, so I definitely am positive that we won’t have to go through that again,” Mitrano said. “If we do, my advice would just be to enjoy the time that we have on the field together during practice and enjoy the time with the older girls and try to learn as much as you can from them because they have been here the longest.”

Alex Martin can be reached at [email protected] or @alexmartinjour on Twitter.