After striking out over 600 batters in the last two seasons, Fortuna’s Hailey Dolcini had already established herself as one of the dominant figures in the circle across the North Coast Section.
The UC Riverside bound senior entered this season having never posted an ERA above 0.98 in her three previous years of varsity softball, and tossed three no-hitters last season. But even those figures all pale in comparison to her start through the first five games of the 2017 campaign.
Through Fortuna’s first five games, Dolcini has allowed one hit. That’s right, she has pitched no-hitters in four of the Huskies’ five games. The start has even surprised herself.
“My goal every game is to hit my spots and try to make myself unhittable, but I don’t have the expectation of throwing a no-hitter every game,” Dolcini said. “My screwball, rise, and change-up have been working real well for me so far, and I am working to make my curveball as good as those other pitches.”
What might surprise some observers – though it should not – is that Dolcini’s success to start this season has come following the longest softball lay-off of her life. She played only sparingly in the fall, and joined the Huskies’ basketball team for the winter season, serving as one of the team’s leading scorers during a 17-8 campaign.
“I think changing up my routine was huge to help with my success this far, because up until this year I had not taken more than one month off to rest my arm,” Dolcini said. “This year, I took about four months off. Playing other sports also helped me tremendously with improving other muscles, and also made me realize the passion and drive I have for the game of softball.”
That passion and drive has led Dolcini to strike out 82 batters in her first 31 innings in the circle this season, with Arcata getting the only hit off her in the team’s second game of the year. Since then, she has pitched three straight no-hitters, including games against Head-Royce and a 7-2 Berean Christian squad. She has also walked just four batters, and no more than one in any game.
Her success has hardly been limited to the circle. At the plate, Dolcini is hitting .625 with two home runs in the first five games. She is part of a Fortuna lineup which is batting .374 as a team, including a red-hot start from senior Taylor Fournier, who is batting .533.
Dolcini gained wide-spread attention last year for starting her K’s for Kids Cancer campaign, raising money in her area to donate to pediatric cancer research. She is continuing that campaign this year as well.
Drake looking to bounce back against MC
After winning its first seven games, the best start for Drake softball in over a decade, the Pirates have gone through a rough patch, dropping three straight, including two in extra innings. That has led to a showdown with MCAL heavy Marin Catholic this Thursday, who remains unbeaten in league play along with Redwood.
The game features one of the section’s premier pitching match-ups, with Drake’s Sona Halajian – an early Cal commit – squaring off against Marin Catholic’s Carly Slack. With both pitchers likely to keep the bats at bay, it could come down to the defensive effort, something which Drake coach Erin Lawley has been emphasizing.
“Our defense has not been there in the last few games, and they know that needs to improve,” Lawley said. “We also need to string things together at the plate.”
In a recent 3-2, eight-inning loss to unbeaten Sonoma Valley, the Pirates mustered 11 hits, but only scored on solo home runs from Halajian and battery mate Riley Siegel.
Drake has also battled against two other early league favorites in its other two losses, losing in 10 innings to third-place San Marin, and falling 3-0 to Redwood. Marin Catholic, meanwhile, also has a loss to Sonoma Valley and is coming off a 7-6 win over Justin-Siena.
Livermore rides atop EBAL
After a 2-1 loss to Castro Valley in the Queen of the Mountain tournament, Livermore has responded by letting people know they are among the teams to beat in the section this year. The Cowboys currently sit atop the East Bay Athletic League after knocking off previously unbeaten teams Amador Valley and Foothill in the same week, by identical 3-2 scores.
Livermore hasn’t blown any team off the field, having won the last four games by a combined six runs, by has shown a knack for coming through in the clutch. The Cowboys scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning against Amador Valley for the come-from-behind win, and two runs in the top of the sixth inning to come from behind for the road victory at Foothill.
Everybody knew Livermore would be strong behind the plate with Oregon State commit Missy Nunes and at shortstop with UOP commit Madison Kahwaty, but sophomore Melanie Laronde has filled in for graduated Hannah Bennett in the circle, while Emily Trask is an impact player in the outfield and on the bases. Alyssa Ramirez is another cornerstone of the infield.
The Cowboys face Kimball-Tracy this coming Tuesday, before hosting the loaded Livermore Stampede next weekend.
