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Sports

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS PREVIEW: English Softball Gears Up For New Season

Captains help rookie coach lead the Blue and Blue in upcoming season.

Having not coached at the high school level, and never in the realm of softball, one might think English High School skipper Maria Gonzalez-Baugh will have to weather stormy seas this season.

But the rookie softball head coach is aided by two senior captains—Elizabeth Nguyen and Andrea Ochoa—who will calm the waters with their experience and leadership qualities.

“I definitely rely on them 100 percent,” said Gonzalez-Baugh. “They are my right and left hand.”

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The captains, who are two-sport athletes with Nguyen competing in volleyball and Ochoa playing soccer, are the only returning players from last year. That leaves a new, mostly undeveloped Blue and Blue team for them to lead. But Gonzalez-Baugh said the girls won’t be going easy on the rookies.

“They have very high standards,” she said. “They are very demanding of themselves and are going to be demanding of others. They are top notch.”

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The Blue and Blue have been gearing up for the season by participating in a Boston University strength and conditioning program during the winter. Gonzalez-Baugh commented that has increased the players’ upper body strength and endurance.

On the mound this season, English will be anchored by Nguyen and Ochoa, but the coach said there is a fresh crop of talent that has lent itself to a couple of interesting pitching prospects. For offense, Gonzalez-Baugh noted that with so many new players, batting is a particular skill that is a work in progress.

According to Gonzalez-Baugh, the Blue and Blue’s strong suite this year will be the bond they form through teamwork and counting on each other, which will result in a sort of “sisterhood.”

“We are all in it together,” she said. “It makes us stronger because we rely on each other.”

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