Joseph Losoya was confident that the San Antonio team he coached to the Senior League Softball World Series was good enough offensively and defensively to contend for the title.
The key to whether the Northside Suburban All-Stars could win the championship, Losoya figured, lay in an intangible as critical to success as hitting and fielding.
“You need unity,” Losoya said. “Your players have to come together. We always had offense and great pitching, but unity was the third component we needed. These girls worked well together and got it done.”
In style, I’ll add.
Northside Suburban, representing the Southwest region in the tournament for girls ages 14-16, rallied for a 3-1 victory over Haverstraw, N.Y., on Saturday in Roxana, Del., to complete a 17-0 playoff run.
“I think we always thought we were the team to beat,” said Losoya, 36. “When we won, it was like a weight coming off the shoulders.”
Northside Suburban was welcomed back to San Antonio with a rally Sunday evening at Clark High School, where eight of the all-star squad’s 14 players are students.
A crowd that grew to about 200 started gathering at a parking lot on the Clark campus more than two hours before the team arrived shortly after 7 p.m.
“I didn’t think this many people would be here,” said first baseman Felicia Sanchez, who will be a senior at Clark this year. “It felt great to have this kind of support.”
Northside Suburban also had two players from Churchill and one each from Brandeis, Business Careers, Taft and Poth.
“I’ll always remember this,” said catcher Alex Losoya, the coach’s daughter. “I’ll remember how we came together even though we were from different schools.”
Northside Suburban started its perfect playoff run through five tournaments by eliminating neighbor Northwest Little League in the District 19 title game. Northwest won the Senior League World Series in 2007.
And just last year, the McAllister Little League boys finished fourth in the Little League World Series.
Northside Suburban lost an 11-inning heartbreaker to Louisiana in the Southwest Regional final last year, falling just short of the World Series.
The San Antonians left no doubt this time.
Northside Suburban beat Portsmouth, Va. (4-3), Canada (12-1), Puerto Rico (6-4), Tucson, Ariz. (8-0) and South Bend, Ind. (13-0) in the World Series before defeating Haverstraw.
Led by Sanchez and third baseman Megan Aragones, who will be a senior at Clark, Northside Suburban simply wouldn’t be denied this time.
“We just tried to stay together,” Sanchez said. “I think we were really laidback. That’s what I’ll always remember, how we got along.”
Sanchez has flourished on the softball field despite having cystic fibrosis.
“It bothers me only sometimes, but I don’t ever think of my disease when I play softball,” she said. “There are things I can’t do, but softball is something I can do.”
Pitching is critical in softball and Northside Suburban had a steady hand in Henessey Soto, who had nine strikeouts and scattered four hits in the title game.
“I really don’t know what to say,” said Soto, who will be a junior at Clark. “I had a great defense behind me.”
Little League District 19 administrator Richard Buckelew said Northside Suburban’s World Series championship will be a boon to girls softball throughout the San Antonio area.
“It creates a lot of interest,” Buckelew said. “We’re proud of them. It’s great for their community and it’s great for the city.”
Rodney Herrera, president of Northside Suburban Little League, praised Losoya for his leadership and coaching.
“We’ve coached baseball together,” Herrera said. “Joseph is a very intense coach and is very knowledgeable. He really gets a lot out of the girls.”
Northside Suburban board members Roger Ford and Mike Silva arrived for Sunday’s victory celebration early and helped put up a poster welcoming back the champs.
“I was glued to ESPN yesterday,” Ford said, referring to the TV broadcast of the championship game. “It was awesome.”
Silva said the players will benefit from this experience for years to come.
“It’s a good building block for them,” Silva said. “I’m sure they learned a lot about the importance of character and teamwork.”
Perhaps Patsy Galvan-Soto, an aunt of player Gabrielle Winkler, said it best as she soaked in the festive occasion.
“This just shows girls can do it, too,” she said.
Amen.
