The Arizona Western softball team enters the spring 2011 season with hopes of building on last year’s success.  Although only returning five players, the ball club looks promising with a crop of several talented freshmen.

In addition to the number of experienced players not returning, Nikki Bethurum heads into her first full season as head coach.  Before joining the AWC staff in 2009, Bethurum spent three years with the University of Arkansas at Monticello as an assistant coach.

Among the players returning is All-American centerfielder Jessica Soria, who led the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) in steals with 67 on 69 attempts.  Soria will be a key player in getting her team off to a fast start as she is the leadoff hitter among the Lady Matadors.

Rena Herrera, the only returning pitcher, will be vital to the team’s success this season. The freshmen pitchers will be looking to her for guidance and leadership.

As Bethurum’s first season as the head coach, she has already experienced her first offseason of recruiting.  Her attention for recruitment has been focused on the local states of Arizona and California.

Among her list of recruits is the local Kofa high school standout pitcher Patricia Porter. Porter, a four-year varsity starter, maintained a 2.20 ERA her senior year.  She is a valuable asset, not only while mowing down opposing batters, but also while swinging the bat as she hit for a percentage of .397 with 23 hits and 20 RBIs.

“We’re going to do very well,” Porter said of her team’s prospects this year. “We have a talented roster and share great chemistry on and off the diamond.”

“Our team’s success this spring will come from communication, encouraging each other and constantly maintaining a positive attitude,” stated Porter.

Certainly the entire team will be looking to obtain success on the playing field.  In the words of freshmen Porter, “My goal is to go by Coach Mark’s [Garcia] philosophy of always being a better ballplayer than I was the day before” – an ideal standard for such a talented group of young women.

The Lady Matadors opened their 2011 campaign against Paradise Valley Community College on February 1 in Phoenix.

Of course, the AWC community wishes the softball team the best of luck with the season at hand.