Falcons about to start spring campaign
Roster thinner than usual
Normally, the Solano College softball team is deep into its season in mid-April.
Instead, the Falcons will try to get those first-game jitters out of the way Wednesday when they host Yuba in a doubleheader for the 2021 opener. The team began conditioning on campus the week of March 1 after the school opted in for late spring sports.
The 2020 slate was interrupted after 20 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Falcons were 8-12 overall before things were shut down in March. In their last full season in 2019, they were 17-13 overall.
“I think the workouts have gone well,” said Solano’s firstyear coach Taryn Sigl. “Anytime you have athletes take a year off, they’re going to be a little rusty but I think the practices went very smoothly.”
Solano’s roster features 12 players but features some talent, including sophomore Gra
cie Alves (Turlock), who has already committed to William Penn as well as sophomore Emma Woodworth (Pleasant Hill) who has committed to Dickinson State. Sophomore Katie Poole (Moraga) has a handful of offers and is expected to commit to a fouryear school as well.
Alves hit .391 with 19 runs scored and eight steals last season. Woodworth hit .324 and Poole hit .261.
“Our roster is a little smaller,” Sigl said. “Because school has been online, some athletes wanted to continue working instead of playing but we expect to have some of those players back next season.”
Sigl said Kiera Edwards (Esparto) will handle a lot of the pitching duties. Alves will hold down the shortstop spot when she’s not pitching. Woodworth and Poole will see a lot of time at catcher and on the corners
Cristina Aguilar (Livingston) is expected to play all over the diamond, and Kenadi Akin (Rohnert Park) will be counted on as one of the team’s top power hitters. Lyndsey Urricelqui (Fairfield) is an outfielder who hit .314 last season, and Summer Hensrud (Vacaville) is a freshman utility player.
Because she has a small roster, Sigl is hoping to utilize all 12 players.
The schedule is a mix of opponents from the Bay Valley Conference (the program’s traditional league) as well as the Big-8 Conference.
“We play Sierra and (Diablo Valley) from the Big-8 and those should be tough opponents,” the coach said. “We play Santa Rosa from the Big-8 too. I haven’t seen them in a while but all of those opponents should be pretty close.”
The schedule features 25 games and is expected to wrap up by May 19.
“I think it will be a short season but a good season,” Sigl said.