This past Wednesday, the Coronado Islanders softball team’s offense stayed hot as they trounced Madison High School 18-2, improving to 4-7 on the young season.

“We always tell these girls to find their pitch, and against Madison, the girls as a whole did a great job of being patient and picking pitches to do damage on,” said Islander Manager Thomas Dull.

En route to pushing 18 runs across, including a 12-run top of the fourth inning, Coronado as a team tallied 20 hits. Of those 20 hits, 11 were extra-base knocks.

In total, seven of the Islanders’ starting nine would put together multi-hit performances that included three hit afternoons for Samantha Aldworth, Maren Hawley, Ali Pecus, and freshman Jersey Cunningham.

For Cunningham, her 3/5 day at the dish included a pair of triples, two RBIs, and a stolen base. In her freshman campaign, Cunningham has not only impressed but continuously delivered. Through 11 games and just 17 at-bats this season, she’s posted an outrageous .706 Slug% and 1.232 OPS.

“Going into the week, we knew we wanted to call a few freshmen up to give them an opportunity to play,” said Dull. “Based on batting practice on Monday and Tuesday, where she was lacing the ball, we decided to give her a start on Varsity. She has been putting in a lot of work, and I think it showed with how she performed on Wednesday.”

While the offense swatted the ball around the yard, Coronado once again got a quality start out of senior Ali Pecus. Pecus would work five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks while punching out three.

In 38.1 innings pitched this season, Pecus has been excellent inside the circle, posting a 2.19 ERA and holding opposing batters to a .201 OBP (on-base percentage).

“We have been building her arm up here in the early part of the season,” said Dull. “As our ace, in games where she is dominant, we’ll let her finish the game. Ali has been huge in her last two starts in helping grab wins and making sure this team holds onto momentum.”

As mentioned at the top, Coronado’s 18-2 victory pushes their record to 4-7 on the year. After playing a bevy of games here in the early season, the Islanders will rest for spring break and prepare for their second-half stretch run.

Coronado will return to action on Wednesday, April 9th, against Mira Mesa High School. The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

“Mira Mesa is always a solid team, and they should be a good test for us coming back from break,” said Dull.