Home fans gathered at San Jose City College on Saturday, March 24 as the Jaguars faced off against Diablo Valley College, who were visiting from Pleasant Hill.

During the first inning, the Jaguars held their opponents scoreless with a plethora of strikeouts, while scoring three runs of their own on a 3-run home run by Jaguars pitcher Haley Castro.

In the second inning, the Jaguars continued to add to their lead with a run from third-baseman Malia Venegas.

Although they were trailing, the Vikings did not back down, scoring a run in the fourth inning and scoring three more times over the course of the game. Their efforts proved to be insufficient, however, as the Jaguars matched their opposition’s scoring ability and maintained their lead until the final pitch was thrown.

SJCC head coach Debbie Huntzee-Rooney, 59, felt good about the results but was already looking ahead to future games.

“We’ve got some ways to go,” Huntzee-Rooney.

Still, she remained optimistic, saying, “We’re focused on one game at a time and try to try to win one game at a time.”

Jaguars pitcher Chelsea Rayment, said she felt great about the win.

“It was a good game,” Rayment said.

J.R. Sandova, second-baseman Kiya Sandoval’s father, said of the Jaguars softball team,“They play hard. They always play hard.”

“Even when they lose, they’re winners,” he said.