The Paly Vikings softball team finished the season strong with a 23-2 win against Lynbrook on their final game and senior night last thursday. Overall, their record this season was 8-14 and, in league, they were 5-7. They finished their season 4th in the El Camino league.

This was another difficult year for the softball team, because they again switched coaches this year, which was the third year in a row with a new coach.

“The whole season was full of ups and downs,” said catcher Hana Foster (24). “We had trouble organizing players and there were a lot of problems between coaches. Everything turned out okay eventually, but it was definitely a difficult season to adjust to.”

Despite this, they began their season with a bang, winning 15-5 against El Camino High School. Throughout the season they lost to some difficult opponents, such as the Santa Teresa Saints, who had an 81% win rate. But they also triumphed in many close games, for example, when they beat Monte Vista 10-9 in April.

“Considering that this is the third year with a new coach, it went better than we expected,” said pitcher Cameron Toland (23).

The Vikings sported a powerful set of athletes this season, such as captain and shortstop Madhu Ramkumar (22), who stole nine bases this season, or centerfielder Delaney Ball (23), who was the team leader in runs with 32.

The current coach, Keith Stamper plans to come back next year and coach the softball team again.

“Next year it will be nice to have some more consistency,” said Toland.