Expectations Run High at Pacifica Once Again

The coach says he doesn’t feel any pressure. He has several players back after winning a second consecutive Southern Section Division III softball title last year.

The pitcher says she doesn’t feel any pressure. She has a scholarship in hand, worked hard in the off-season and has more confidence than ever.

Opponents shouldn’t feel any pressure either. After all, they’re not expected to beat Garden Grove Pacifica, which opens the season as The Times’ No. 1 team in the Southland. They are also the top-ranked team in the country by Student Sports magazine.

But there’s pressure. There’s always pressure at the top.

The Mariners have been moved this season to Division I, where the competition is tougher and the margin for error less.

“The pressure is that we have to play an ‘A’ game every single day; be physically and mentally prepared every time we step on the field,” Coach Rob Weil said. “The team that’s playing us is expected to lose, so they have nothing to lose. If they happen to beat us, it’s a big upset.

“Like I tell them in practice, we’ll leave no stone unturned to prepare them, and then just let the outcome take care of itself.”

The outcome should be in good hands. This is not new territory for Pacifica, which finished the 1997 season ranked No. 1 in the nation by both Student Sports and USA Today with UCLA and Olympic standout Amanda Freed (20-0) in the pitching circle.

“This team has a little more experience because they’ve been involved with the elite in travel ball for so many years,” Weil said. “In 1998, they didn’t start [playing] at 7 or 8 years old.”

Pitcher Brittany Weil, the coach’s daughter, and catcher Ashlyn Watson lead the way. Weil has signed with Iowa, Watson with Washington. Another senior pitcher, Camille Hundley, has signed with Azusa Pacific.

Weil went 26-2 last season with a 0.16 earned-run average. She also struck out 265 in 175 innings as Pacifica won its fifth section title and earned Cal-Hi Sports’ No. 1 ranking in the state.

Brittany has no problem with trying to defend the titles, the rankings or anything else.

“I’m nervous for her as a coach, I’m nervous for her as a dad,” Coach Weil said. “I know what makes her motor tick. Her motor ticks by giving her the ball in tough competition. She’s driven by challenges.”

Three of the four freshmen who played pivotal roles last season are back -- shortstop Monica Harrison and outfielders Taylor Froelich and Stephanie Ochoa. Noelle Micka, penciled in as an outfielder this season, didn’t return for personal reasons, Weil said.

The sting of losing Micka, who batted leadoff, should be softened by another group of freshmen that Weil said was comparable to last year’s group -- second basemen Kristin Arriola and Courtney Aden, and outfielders Christina Zambrana and Andrea Harrison. The latter is the shortstop’s sister and perhaps the best athlete the program has ever had, Weil said.

Ochoa moves to first base, and Hundley or junior Lizette Mejia will take over third base.

“If we do what we’re supposed to do, if we play good defense, if we get good pitching, if we do all the little things, the outcome will probably be in our favor,” Rob Weil said.

But they are young.

“I have a lot of confidence in them,” Brittany Weil said of the underclassmen. “They’ve shown their work ethic, their drive to win and be successful. They’ve all been at the top before. We’re not just freshmen and sophomores, we’re softball players.”