Dream big and swing for the fences is what the Galveston College softball team had been doing all season up until Monday, when their bats were silenced and dreams dashed after falling 4-0 to San Jacinto College-South in a rain-soaked NJCAA DI Region 14 Tournament elimination game in Bossier City, Louisiana.

 

“It’s a tough loss to take, but we had a great season and we’re looking forward to returning next year,” said Galveston College Athletic Director and Head Softball Coach, Kelly Raines. “We knew the regional tournament wasn’t going to be easy. The bad weather and delays didn’t make it any easier either, but that was for everyone. We faced some tough, talented teams and in the end, we ran out of gas.”

 

The Whitecaps opened the regional tournament with a 6-5 eight inning victory over Tyler Junior College on Friday, lost to Angelina College 11-4 on Saturday and had their Sunday game against SJC-South postponed in the third inning before resuming Monday morning.

 

GC ended the season with a 38-11 overall record. The Whitecaps posted solid stats with a .346 team batting average, including 60 home runs in 49 games, en route to a No. 16 NJCAA DI ranking.

 

“We had the potential to do more and go further this season, but I’m proud of the team and what we accomplished this season,” said Raines. “Qualifying to regionals and being ranked in the top 20 nationally is something this team can be proud of. We’re going to miss our sophomores who are graduating and transferring to four-year universities, but we have a solid base of players that can get us back to regionals next year and beyond.”

 

In Friday’s game, GC sophomore right-handed hurler Gabby Guzman pitched 5.2 innings before giving way to freshmen righties Abigayle Woodson and Karlie Barba, who combined to throw the last 2.1 innings in relief. Barba was credited with the win to improve to 14-3 on the season.

Whitecaps sophomore catcher Maria Andrade went 2-for-4 with a run scored and three RBIs, while freshman second baseman Samantha Gonzalez went 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs and freshman shortstop Emily Parks went 2-for-3 with one run and two RBIs.

 

In the loss against Angelina College on Saturday, Woodson came on in relief of Barba and took the loss to drop to 7-3.

 

Offensively, second baseman Gonzalez went 2-for-3 with a run scored and one RBI and sophomore third baseman Aviana Gonzalez also went 2-for-3 and brought home a run.

 

For more information about the Galveston College Whitecaps softball program, rosters and season schedule, visit https://www.gcwhitecaps.com/landing/index.

 

ABOUT GALVESTON COLLEGE

Galveston College was founded in 1967 and is a comprehensive community college providing the residents of Galveston Island and the surrounding region with academic, workforce development, continuing education and community service programs.