As the ball flies towards her, Freshman Paityn Vidano swings and hits, making it soar over the field and fence. She starts sprinting for the bases, eventually making it home and hitting her first home run on March 27.
Vidano has been playing softball since she was five years old. She’s a utility, meaning she plays every position, but so far as the only official freshman on Varsity, she’s been playing in the outfield.
Over the years, she has played for three teams. She played for Fury, a competitive softball club located in Temecula, for a while before switching to her current club, Batbusters, an under-14 competitive softball club. Now she plays for the Poway High Varsity team.
She is leading her team with one stolen base, and she is the only one who has hit a triple, which is a strong enough hit to advance to third base.
Although she has only been on the team for two months, she feels a close connection to her teammates.
“ I like the community, getting to know my teammates, and it being a team sport. I look up to a lot of them – they’re my role models. It’s like we’re a family. And Coach Bennett really knows what he’s talking about. He’s helped me a lot,” Vidano said.
Coach Jim Bennett has been coaching softball for about three decades, including 22 years as coach of Poway’s varsity team. He said Vidano has been a great addition to the team.
“Paityn’s a very good athlete, very talented, very versatile, and she works very hard. Not a lot of freshmen make varsity their first year, so she’s doing a really good job,” Bennett said.
Her teammate, senior Sophia Grimm, has been on Varsity for four years and plays left field. Grimm and Vidano both play in the outfield. The two have become good teammates.
“I just met Paityn this year. She’s a great asset to the team, and I’m very excited to be playing with her. We’re having an amazing season!” Grimm said.
The varsity team has gone 16- 5, and players have a combined total of 34 home runs as of May first. They play their next home game, Friday, May 9.
