‘On a mission.’ Riverbank softball leaves first title game in 40 years hungry for more

Mahaila Guzman, Desirae Vargas, Denise Vargas, Sophia DeMatteo and Rozie Vallejo are all members of the class that turned around the Riverbank High softball program.

The five juniors have changed the culture, attitude and on-field play synonymous with the school’s softball team.

As sophomores last season, they helped lead the team to its first season with more than 10 wins since 2017 and its first playoff appearance since 2016.

What’s even better? They are just as effective off the field as they are on. Bruins coach Jeff Borden speaks glowingly about his players’ impacts on the high school’s community. They are leaders in the school, members in on-campus clubs and maintain good grades despite the rigors of being a student-athlete.

“They’re all softball sisters, they’re from great families, they’ve got great values and they’ve got a lot of heart,” Borden said. “They work together. Sometimes you have teams that don’t pull together. This team has really pulled together.”

This season, the Bruins (13-8-2) won eight Trans-Valley League games, securing the league’s second spot — the program’s highest finish in more than 20 seasons. Their 13 wins overall gave them their second straight season with as many wins. The first time since the 2007 and 2008 seasons the Bruins have won 11 or more games in back-to-back years.

They earned the No. 2 seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI playoffs and beat Vacaville Christian in the quarterfinals and Le Grand in the semifinals, outscoring their opponents 20-2, en route to the program’s first section championship appearance since 1983. They took on No. 5 Summerville in the Division VI title game.

The Bears jumped out to an early 2-1 lead after the first inning and added a pair of runs in the late innings to hand the Bruins a 4-1 loss. With one season left together, the loss can only serve as motivation for the Class of 2024.

“They’re on a mission, and they’re planning on coming back,” said Borden. “We’re going to do everything we can to help them do that.”

It takes everyone

Senior pitcher Janeiya Lopez has been the perfect person to lead the juniors who helped turn around the Riverbank softball program.

Lopez, who will play college softball at William Penn next season, finished the season with a .381 batting average, 24 hits, 15 RBIs, four doubles and went 6-1 in the circle. As a junior, she led the team in batting average, hits, RBIs and doubles.

“We’re gonna really miss her,” Borden said. “She is a real quiet leader. She lets her pitching and her bat do the talking for her, yet she’s very supportive in every single way. So she’s had a great season. It’s been a great run.”

But she’s not alone. Freshman Maya Guzman, who also participated in the triple jump finals Friday afternoon at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Track & Field Championships, led the team with a .500 batting average, accounting for 36 hits, 34 runs, 21 RBIs, four triples and three home runs — all team highs — and older sister Mahaila followed closely behind batting .414 with 29 hits, 20 RBIs and a pair of home runs.

Desirae Vargas and Denise Vargas and DeMatteo led a group of six other players with batting averages above .300 and Vallejo finished the season tied with Mahaila Guzman for second on the team with two home runs.

“They went to work at the beginning of practice and they continually got better,” Borden said. “We have girls who weren’t on the field all the time that became as big a part of the team as the girls that were on the field.

“As a coach, you can’t ask for anything more than that.”

You don’t normally see teams attempt to steal third base, but the Bruins’ base running strategy is anything but normal.

They advance on almost any and every passed ball or wild pitch and embrace the challenge of testing the catcher’s arm no matter the pitch count. It’s how they scored their only run Saturday. Denise Vargas walked to open the bottom of the first, advanced to second on a passed ball then advanced to third after tagging up on a fly ball out to right field.

Vargas scored on a passed ball in the next at-bat.

All in an inning’s work for a Bruin baserunner.

“We play the game aggressively, we believe in putting pressure on the other team’s defense and trying to make things happen,” Borden said after Saturday’s game. “Defensively, they (Summerville) were really strong today. We couldn’t really find a crack in the armor, but we always try.”

A successful year

After the game, Riverbank players presented athletic director Juan Harvey with the school’s third runner-up plaque this school year.

The Bruins’ boys soccer team finished second in Division V for the second straight season and the girls’ basketball team advanced to its first section title since 1985 in Division IV this winter, falling to Colfax.

While the goal is for plaques to turn into blue banners next season, sending three teams to championships — with two reaching finals for the first time in at least 38 years — is something they can celebrate.

It is the completion of a successful athletics year that was exciting for staff, athletes and the Riverbank community.

“I think it shows a lot about the parents of these kids and the way they’re brought up to believe in themselves and to strive to be winners,” said Borden. “It’s really an amazing group of young athletes.”