By: SID Chase Dodge

Westcliff Softball is set to begin their 1st official season as a program this month. This has been a long time coming for Westcliff Athletics. Westcliff this season will face tough opponents. They begin their season against NCAA Chapman University and Biola University. Softball will also face NAIA non conference Vanguard,Goshen, William Jessup and Hope International. Along with conference opponents Antelope Valley, Benedictine, Embry-Riddle, Simpson, La Sierra, Marymount, Saint Katherine and Park-Gilbert.  We sat down with Head Coach Vanessa Kellems to give us a breakdown on what to expect on the season.

This will be the first official season of Westcliff Softball. What are some of your expectations and goals for this season?

"As a new team and a new program our goals and expectations are fluid changing from the Fall to this Spring. As a team we set weekly goals that we want to achieve aligned with our individual goals. Our team expectations for this spring is to set a new standard for this team and program. Our team expectations are to not let up against any opponent, fighting each inning like it's the 7th. We have been working on our team communication and energy to maintain a standard each inning regardless of the score.

Our team goals for this spring is to surprise all our opponents within the Cal Pac and amongst all the NAIAs. The team has developed three main goals that can help us achieve our ultimate goal. Our first team goal is to have an aggressive mindset each pitch and each ball hit to us. Our second team goal is to mentally engage each pitch by understanding everyone's role and communicating with each other and knowing we have each other's back. Our third team goal is to have fun each inning and every game. We have learned with the pandemic that we need to play every game with the same energy as our first game last because it easily could be our last. Achieving and working towards these team goals will help with our team overall success and ultimately earn the wins the team has been for."

2.There are a ton of newcomers to the team heading into this season, what do these players bring to the team and to the school. 

"Everyone on the team is a newcomer to myself. Taking the team on in August we quickly learned we had 10 new Warriors! All these young athletes have done a tremendous amount of work this fall and have truly made a name for themselves. A few athletes to keep an eye out for this coming spring that I believe will be influential players for this team are Freshmen First Basemen Becky Ramos and Senior Pitcher Mykala Tokunaga.

Mykala Tokunaga is actually a graduate student at Westcliff in our Business program. Mykala is a recent graduate from Chapman University where she was named All- Academic Team, All-SCIAC team and All - Region Team. Mykala brings experience, leadership skills, and a positive attitude to practice each day. Mykala helps her teammates during team study hall with their business classes. We are excited to have Mykala experience on the mound to help strengthen our pitching staff as we had a competitive season ahead of us. We are excited to have Mykala join our line up and see her power at the plate and speed on the bases. Mykala is a great addition to our team and we are excited to see her on the field this spring.

Becky Ramos has become an impact player for our team. We knew with her coming into our freshman class to make a statement but she definitely said the team's tone and expectations. Becky leads by example which can be shown through her work ethic on the field and in the classroom. Becky's strong bat will be something to look forward to this spring. Both of these athletes have demonstrated our philosophy of the 5Cs and work to elevate our team through their forms of leadership and skills. Both of these athletes work ethic can be seen in their success on the field and in the classroom.

There are a few other newcomers to keep an eye out for this season that have become impactful players to our team: Junior Outfielder Lauren Coppla, Junior Outfielder Natalie Ziegler, Freshman Outfielder Jenna Ruiz, Freshmen Mackenzie Melzer, Freshman Infielder Alyssa Vigil, and Freshmen Infielder Siana San Vicente. We have a lot of great returning players that have been helping set the standards for our incoming players and preparing them for this first season."

3. Talk about your team captains this year, who are your leaders and why are they your leaders?

"As a staff we decided not to have designated team captains for a couple of reasons. As a new team in the new program we strive to teach each of our players to be a leader on and off the field. Within our team dynamic we do not rely on two or three individuals to pick up their teammates, we want everyone to be able to set up when they see their teammates are struggling and we need a leader."

4. Talk about the schedule coming up this year, what are some opponents we should be looking forward to facing?

"We are super excited about our upcoming schedule this spring. Not only is it our first season of playing but we get to play some great teams. There is some great competition we are scheduled to face this spring in our conference and in non- conference games. We are really excited to face Vanguard and Hope International both with coaches I have personally played and coached against. Both teams are traditionally strong competition and make it deep into the postseason tournament. It will be great to see how we measure with elite teams within the NAIA division. We are also excited to play against Division 3 Chapman University and Division 2 Biola University! Both these teams have done well in their division and conferences. It will be great competition to push our team towards our goals and develop further."

5. Talk about heading into Cal Pac and NAIA play, how exciting is it for your players to see how they stack up in conference play?

"The team is super excited about playing their first year! We're excited to see how the team will stack up in conference play and super many teams as they make a name for themselves."

 Westcliff Softball will begin their season on February 8th against Chapman at the OC Great Park at 3:00PM