Varsity girls’ softball hosted its annual Jamboree on March 2, inviting teams from different schools such as Acalanes, Arroyo, Moreau Catholic, and Cardinal Newman to compete in a mini-tournament. The event was held on the Campolindo softball fields.
According to co-captain Shelley Suhling, the tournament is designed to not only allow different teams to participate in additional scrimmages, but to also provide a training practice for new umpires and to fundraise for the Campo softball program.
“We bring gatorade and such to sell at the snack shack, and whatever we don’t sell we get to keep the rest,” said Suhling.
All teams pay a fee to play in the tournament, and according to senior Tela Zembsch, the proceeds then help out the Campo program with expenses such as maintenance costs and new uniforms.
Since the Jamboree occurs near the start of the softball season, Zembsch sees this event as a good indicator of the team’s performance. “We get to see how we’re playing, since we’ve only played one game before this. It’s good to see what we need to work on and what we’re doing good at. We had some unexpected surprises, which were good; and some things we need to work on, which we’ll work on in practice,” she said.
According to co-captain Becca Crisp, the Campo team lost against Moreau Catholic and Arroyo, but won against Piedmont. “Our biggest problem is that we have lots of injuries. Zoe Marrott has a back injury, both catchers Kristin Ghamghami and Mallory Matzen hurt their arms, and Sarah Reynolds has a sprained ankle,” she said. “Hopefully we will get healthier.”
Suhling said, “I think it’s a really good opportunity for girls to get used to varsity softball. Especially if you’re new, it’s to get used to the rules and how everything is going to be, because it’s kinda hard as a freshman to adjust.”
Although only varsity teams are invited to the Jamboree, junior varsity players, such as freshman Grace Deskin, are often called up to play. She said, “It’s really fun to come out and play. The best part is the teamwork, we just have to all put in the effort to win.”
So far, the varsity team has only competed in one scrimmage against Antioch High School. “We lost by 2, but they’re a Division I school and we were almost just as good as them,” said Suhling.
Despite their loss, both Crisp and Zembsch are confidently looking forward to the season. “We are definitely better than last year, this is the best team in the 4 years I’ve been on the team,” said Crisp. “We’ve got a lot of good fielders and definitely stuff to work on but it all looks promising to me,” said Zembsch.