As Rachel Robinson glances at Kaija Gibson, the two senior Redmond High softball players nod their heads in unison and note that they’d like a three-peat, a return to the state tournament for another season.
Last year, the Mustangs finished seventh at state, and the year before they notched fifth following a thrilling 4A Kingco championship victory. In 2015, Redmond reeled off three straight elimination victories to grab Kingco’s second spot to state.
“I think it’s gonna take a lot of concentration on the field and a lot of focusing,” said Robinson, who plays first base. “We need to have more energy on and off the field, celebrating the good things that we do and picking our team up when we do something bad.”
At the Reporter’s press time, Redmond was 2-3 overall and 1-1 in league, and shortstop Gibson said that it’s a long season with plenty of room for more victories: “These games, we’re gonna get better, we’re gonna take some losses, we’re gonna go through some hardships. But towards the end of the season, we know it all matters, we know we need to play for each other — we’re gonna make it happen.”
Highlights so far include four home runs from sophomore Mara Kipnis and some solid hitting from Gibson, junior Keona Tibbs and freshman Lindsay Tsujikawa.
Freshman catcher Allison Wells has been handling pitches from sophomore returner Sophia Viola and freshman Kiki Milloy, who replaces her sister Amirah — now playing at the University of Washington — on the Mustang family roster.
Coach Parris Mamon noted that Viola and Milloy are both crafty pitchers, with the former possessing a little more finesse and the latter sending some heat toward batters. Mamon said it’s nice having two strong pitchers and he’ll go with which hurler has the hot hand on game day.
Redmond began the year with just four seniors — including Megan Nakamura and Lauren Mars (who will miss the rest of the season with an injury) — two juniors (Taylor Ray is injured, as well), two sophomores and four freshmen.
“By being young, we have to find our identity and who we are. The girls are really talented, so we’re just working hard, trying to get them to peak at the right time,” Mamon said.
Added UW-bound Gibson: “I think some of the most important things are leaving it all on the field and having fun with each other.”
Robinson said it’s all about teamwork, whether players are on the field or in the classroom.
“You can go up to bat and think, ‘Oh, this is all on me,’ but it’s not all on you. You wanna get a base hit — you’re not trying to get a home run,” said Robinson, who added that when students are working together on a project in class, everyone needs to participate and bring their A-game.
Mamon wants the girls to believe in themselves every time they step up to the plate and pop on their gloves to play defense. He said softball is a tough game, and win or lose, the Mustangs should be proud of themselves.
“When it’s all said and done, it’s just a game and we want them to enjoy it and represent Redmond the best they can,” Mamon said.
Milloy brings some invaluable advice to the softball diamond via her older sister, and it can be spread up and down the Mustang lineup when the ball is put into play.
“I’ve learned from her that I just need to be mentally prepared, because some of these girls in this league are very good and some of them are going D1,” she said. “I’ve also learned from her that I need to be a leader on this team, especially since five seniors left last year, so just gotta come in prepared.”
