At the beginning of what would be a historic season for the Hesperia Christian softball team, new head coach April Skinner begged a pair of seniors to come back.
The two seniors from the 2023 squad, Macy Piorkowski and Gabby Stoops, were on the fence about returning to softball for their senior season. The duo has known each other since kindergarten and played softball together for about six years.
Skinner asked both of them to return and told them they would not regret it.
Piorkowski, the team’s starting pitcher, was easier to convince.
“I did say, 'I’ll only play if Coach April coaches,'” Piorkowski said.
Stoops was more back-and-forth about her decision. It was her senior year and she was looking to her future after high school rather than potentially coming back to softball.
History made! Hesperia Christian beats Jurupa Valley for CIF-SS Div 8 softball title
“I never expected this from our team and so as a senior, I was looking into getting a job and was like softball is not worth my time. This definitely was worth my time,” Stoops said after Hesperia Christian captured the CIF-Southern Section Division 8 championship.
Hesperia Christian beat Jurupa Valley 8-7 at Deanna Manning Stadium for the first CIF-SS softball title in school history on Friday afternoon.
Underclassmen step up
Piorkowski and Stoops made up the team's foundation, all the more shown in that they were the main pitcher and catcher duo.
The rest of the team behind them on the field, especially for Friday’s championship game against Jurupa Valley, consists of underclassmen.
They were thrown into the varsity level fast but held their own against teams like Riverside Prep and Academy for Academic Excellence.
The team finished with a 15-5 record and won the Agape League, their first league title since 2017. Contributions at the plate from freshmen like Riley Piorkowski, Macy’s sister, and sophomores like Eden Skinner and Elyse Vander Weide propelled the team to the CIF-SS title game.
“Everyone stepped into their role to where there wasn’t a difference between underclassmen and upperclassmen,” Stoops said.
Sophie Anderson, a freshman, has only been playing softball for 18 months but became the team’s starting second baseman and five-hole hitter.
She was on third base in the bottom of the seventh inning as the winning run. Her third base coach told her she might have to get dirty if a ball gets by.
A few pitches later, Jurupa Valley pitcher Taylor Martin threw a pitch in the dirt.
“I just saw that ball go and something in me took over and I just went,” Anderson said.
Anderson bolted to home plate and scored the winning run for Hesperia Christian without a play at the plate.
“It feels amazing, what a first year,” Skinner said.
Continued success for Hesperia Christian
The CIF-SS title for softball is part of a continued string of success for Hesperia Christian.
The 8-man football team won the Division 2 title two years ago, and the baseball team competed in the Division 6 title game last season.
Skinner and Macy Piorkowski said, “It’s girls' turn,” at the same time, and laughed together.
Alex Vander Weide is an assistant coach on the softball team and also the head coach for the football squad. Having two CIF-SS rings now, he sees potential for softball at Hesperia Christian for years to come with such a young squad.
“Softball’s going to be strong for a while,” Vander Weide said.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: 'I never expected this': Hesperia Christian's historic softball season is one for the ages
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