Historic Season with Story Book Ending!

On March 3rd the Vikings Softball team hosted Rio Hondo Community College for the opening of the final Foothill Conference season of play.  Rio Hondo made the 2015 state play-offs and were the pre-season favorites to win the final Foothill Conference Title.  The Vikings entered the game with a 4-15 overall record and a team batting average of .222.  The Vikings averaged just 3 runs per game in those first 15 losses and came into the final Foothill Conference season with a overall Conference record of 7-79 - spanning back to 2009 when Barstow Community College returned intercollegiate softball into the Conference.  However, the Vikings decided to make a run at history and turn the season completely around and it all started with a shocking 10-1 mercy rule victory at home vs Rio Hondo on March 3rd, 2016.  The Vikings continued an absolutely amazing 6 week run to finish out the season just 1 run shy of making the State Play-Offs for the first time in program history.  Barstow Community College won 13 of their last 21 ball games finishing the season 17-23 overall (the most wins in program history) and more importantly they finished 9-6 in Foothill Conference play and achieved the first Conference winning season in program history.  The Vikings are one of only two teams in the Conference with a win against every team in the Conference (Conference Champions Chaffey the other) and the Vikings won 4 of the 5 head to head series against the rest of the Conference (Only Rio Hondo accomplished the same feat).  On Wednesday April 20th the Vikings riding a 7 game winning streak entered Chaffey College for the 3rd and final game of the series and with a win would take a one game lead for second place and a chance to win the Conference Title on the final day of play.  In a thrilling game that took an extra inning to complete - The Vikings won their 9th straight game and took the season series from eventual Conference Champion Chaffey Community College 5-4. (Vikings Celebration) - With the victory the Vikings needed just one win on Friday April 22nd versus Rio Hondo to complete the epic journey - however the Vikings came up just a run short in game 1 losing 3-2 and the steam that ran their incredible engines dried up when they lost a slug fest in game 2.  The Vikings finished the season with a team batting average of .351 - number 1 in the Conference and 12th in the entire state - they also scored nearly 180 runs in the final 21 games with an average of 8.5 runs per contest.  Six of the top ten individual batting averages in the Foothill Conference were Viking players.  However, the greatest accomplishment was achieved following the season when Barstow High School Alumni Marissa Dado was honored as Foothill Conference Player of the Year!  and six more athletes received All-Conference honors - it is believed at this time that Marissa Dado is the only athlete in the history of Barstow Community College to ever receive Foothill Conference Player of the Year honors in any sport.  The Viking Softball team had a choice on March 3rd to wrap-up the season or to fight for a historic and incredible ending - the achievement and journey was memorable.  The Vikings won 13 of the final 21 contests (9 of 15 Conference games) - won 2 extra inning games - lost one extra inning game and of the eight losses 6 were by just one run!

-Freshman (2nd Team All Foothill Conference) Jennifer Marquez-Huston remembers "My favorite part of the season was when it became apparent that we weren't playing just for ourselves.  We were playing for each other.  This was highlighted when we beat College of the Desert in the double header.  We rallied together in extra innings and that is why we were so successful.  Together we are a very dominant team and family."

-Freshman Ashley Vargas (from Adelanto and who was the winning pitcher in the Vikings final contest of the season versus San Diego City) "Mine is becoming a family after all that happened to us.  We stayed together through thick and thin.  Making my first year of college softball the best.  We did what we wanted the most and made history doing it.  It was our season and we proved it."

-Sophomore Foothill Conference Player of the Year and 1st Team All-State Marissa Dado says "My favorite moment was when we beat Chaffey"