Marti Savlov is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mesa High School for AZPreps365.com.

Last season, Mesa’s softball team won more than three games for the first time since 2013.

Much credit can be given to head coach Kylie Eskridge, who took charge of the softball program two years ago.

Since her arrival, the team has revamped the entire program. She has changed the way the girls practice by incorporating different batting, catching and field skills. 

This year alone, Eskridge and assistant coach Caitlin Harris added a preseason training camp to help with fundamentals and basics. Ahead of the season, the team was practicing every day for up to three hours. 

This year, freshmen and sophomores were added as fresh talent to the team.

“I'm excited to see how we will do this season because I feel like it's a brand new fresh start from the past few years. We have never had this many freshmen and sophomores,” Isabel Martinez said.

The biggest rivalry game this season is against Westwood on April 2 on the road and again on April 14 at home. There are nine home games this season. The last scheduled game is April 23.

This season, there are four seniors on the team. Freddia Salas is a player to look out for as a team captain and utility player. Corner infielder Justeen Galarza, first baseman Jasmine Frank, and catcher/left fielder Breah Hernandez are the other seniors on the team.

The coaches believe softball goes beyond winning, including in the classroom. Their goal is to get the girls to be OK with failure and thrive because of it. 

Performing well on the field is important, but to play the girls have to do well in school also. While the school requires a D average in order to play, the softball staff demands a C average. Last year, five of the eleven seniors received scholarships to play collegiately.

“Softball is a game of failure,” Ekridge said. “It's one of the only sports that has an area on the score box or stats book for errors.”

Off the field, the girls are involved in the community by doing multiple fundraisers throughout the season. The girls love to hang out together on and off the field, something unique to the Mesa team.

“I am excited to bond with the team this season and my favorite part is the hitting,” freshman Sophia Mawson said.

The returning players help out the newer players throughout practice.

The majority of girls play or have played for Eskridge’s travel ball team. The team has a bond from playing years of softball together.