It had been 11 years since the last time Pajaro Valley was able to muster together at least five wins in one season.
For most programs it’s not a big deal, but being able to surpass that milestone almost seemed impossible for a school lucky enough to get in the win column at least once a year.
In 2025, the Grizzlies rewrote the history books after they recorded the most wins in a single season by finishing with a 8-13 overall record. It was more wins than the past 10 years combined, barring the 2020 season that was cancelled due to Covid-19.
The addition of sophomore Hemeria De La Torre was just one of several contributing factors in helping build what is turning out to be an up and rising program. She had a 6-10 record in the circle with 99 strikeouts in 17 appearances for the Grizzlies, according to statistics on the Max Preps website.
“My mindset coming into this year was just giving my all on that mound,” De La Torre said. “Trying my best, even if it doesn’t mean striking out the whole team. At least it’s giving them good hits, doing my job and letting my infield and outfield do their job.”
At the plate, De La Torre batted a .580 average (29-for-50) with three home runs, two triples, seven doubles, 15 walks, 32 RBIs, and 32 runs scored—all a team-best for PV.
PV head coach Daisy Ortiz, 22, has also done an amazing job attempting to turn around the program since arriving on campus in 2024. She said part of her would like to see current players sign up for a club or travel team, yet the second-year skipper is aware most of them are multi-sport athletes with other commitments.
“I knew coming in I wasn’t going to have any travel ball players, and I knew I would come in with a lot of girls that didn’t know how to play the game,” Ortiz said. “I knew there was going to be a lot of teaching. Last year was a lot of teaching them the rules of softball, and that’s why we had a lot more success this year.”
The Grizzlies placed fourth in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Cypress Division with a 6-6 record in league play—two more feats never achieved in the program’s short history.
Other PV players that vastly contributed to the team’s success included senior Elena Barron, and juniors Jaqueline Alvarez Zavala and Virginia Escobar.
Barron batted a .524 average (22-for-42) with one home run, two triples, two doubles, 13 walks, seven stolen bases, 24 RBIs and scored 22 runs this season. She was also PV’s primary catcher, hauling in pitches tossed by De La Torre.
“I feel like we’ve gotten closer as a team,” said Barron following a 10-9 win against Marina on May 7. “We’re more comfortable around each other, we created stronger bonds. With Meri [De La Torre], I’ve created a stronger bond with her, especially since I’ve been with her for two years.”
Alvarez Zavala finished with 21 hits, 13 walks, nine stolen bases, 15 RBIs and scored 17 runs, while Escobar had 16 hits, 10 RBIs, 26 runs scored and a team-best 10 stolen bases. Junior Olivia Contreras also stepped up with 14 RBIs and 12 runs scored, while freshman Nadia Renteria contributed 13 hits, five stolen bases, 11 RBIs and 28 runs scored—good for second best on the team.
“This sport is new to most of our players,” Barron said. “It’s really impressive how quickly they’re able to grab onto their position, how quickly they are able to grab onto the whole game.”
However, the issue PV has with establishing itself as a major contender is getting more girls to participate in the sport. There is also the reality that most competitive softball players in town choose to attend Watsonville High.
The Wildcatz have a history of triumph, including winning Santa Cruz County’s first-ever Central Coast Section softball championship in 2017. They earned the No. 2 seed in this year’s Division IV playoffs, and will host No. 7 Cupertino on Saturday at 2pm.
Ortiz will continue to recruit eighth graders with travel softball experience to play at PV, which has one of the most pristine-looking softball stadiums in the county. Yet, she understands a majority of them will instead end up donning a Watsonville jersey.
“A lot of girls go to Watsonville because they want to compete and stuff,” Ortiz said. “I understand they’re in a higher league, but when a lot of them are going, there’s only certain number of sports on the team.”
Hint, hint.
Ortiz opted not to join Watsonville during her senior year in 2021, but she did play for Suncats Jimenez and previously on the now defunct Central Coast Athletics travel softball teams.
During that time, she also helped coach her younger sister, De La Torre, and other players on the Tremblers of the Pajaro Valley Girls Softball League. Ortiz went on to play at Cabrillo College, and was a coach with the West Coast Monarchs fastpitch softball club for two years.
Now, she currently has PV heading in the right direction by instilling a beam of confidence into the players.
Part of that belief came in that May 7 game against Marina. The Grizzlies gave up a lead they had built throughout the game, and later won in the bottom of the seventh when Renteria stole home for the game-winning run.
“I had anxiety throughout the whole game, but it was a good team effort win,” Barron said. “I know in the beginning we came out kind of slow. But at the end we really showed up and hustled out there, we gave it our all.”
PV might still be a long way from becoming a playoff or league contender at the moment. But Ortiz’s ultimate objective of gaining more growth, and exposure, for the sport of softball on campus continues to rise, which is already a victory for the program itself.
“We can have fun but I know when to be serious,” she said. “I just want them to enjoy their high school years and just have fun. I know all of them are competitors, so trying to win games [is a goal], as well.”
Correction: A version of this story in the May 23-29 print edition of The Pajaronian said Pajaro Valley High set a school record with seven wins in a single season, which is incorrect. Pajaro Valley won a total of eight games.
