SARATOGA -- Following a historic, 42-win season for West Valley softball last year, the standard has been set. Now, with a new group of faces with some stellar returners folded into the mix, the focus is on continuing the culture year-over-year with all eyes set on another state championship appearance.

Head coach Vicky Piatt has continued to be adamant about how special last years' team was, referring to it as an outlier season while continuing to preach how special she believes this years' team can be. But when you have such a successful program, as Piatt and her world-class staff have had since starting at West Valley, the year-over-year culture is evident. And while some years are more difficult to weave in that culture, Piatt feels none of that this season.

"It's gone excellent," said Piatt. "I'll say this. I talk about last years' team and how wonderful they were. And I don't think I give enough credit to the work and effort we put in the year before when we had a bunch of freshmen that we were building up. I think for us, last year really just was the product of the hard work that we'd put in the years before. The culture is there, and last year, everything lined up and was put together. When I look at the team this year, they're doing the exact same things that our freshmen did two years ago. The culture is there; I can see it. It's all coming together."

The 2025 roster was stacked in the circle, with Ashlie Nakano (now at Cal State Dominguez Hills) leading the charge with over 100 innings and a 2.00 ERA. The Vikings also lose Alysia Elizarrey, now at nearby Menlo College, who finished last season with an 0.93 ERA in her 45 frames.

But Piatt's pitching staff has been dominant throughout the fall, even to the point where she's felt sorry for her own hitters in intersquads with how tough the pitching they are facing has been. Amelia Sizemore, who threw to a 3.79 ERA over 48 innings, and Anastasia Marquez, whose 3.41 ERA was third on the team in her 41 innings, return to stabilize the pitching staff.

"Today, we did live [at-bats]," said Piatt. "My pitchers are making it so hard for me to be like 'oh, you're going to be number one. No, you're going to be number one,' like we have so much depth. And they complement each other so well. We have Ana, our veteran, so I have to make sure to give her kudos. She's put in so much work; she's going to get a ton of innings. We brought Kaylee in, Kaylee Kline as a freshman. She's going to come in and you're going to see a bunch of swings-and-misses. She's going to get a lot of strikeouts. Katy [Lambert] -- she came off a year of not playing. I recruited her two years ago, and she took a year off, and she was like 'coach, I miss softball'. She's come back and you're going to see so much from her, too. She's getting better every day. Bri Padilla, she's a transfer from Menlo College, she's my lefty. Today, she was mowing down hitters."

On the other side of the ball, West Valley lost five of its top six hitters by at-bats from last season. Even with needing to replace all but one home run from last season, Piatt mentioned the depth and positional versatility this seasons' lineup can display. Raylene Cruz hit cleanup for the Vikings last season and hit the aforementioned home run against Chabot, while Alexis Bojorquez-Nava hit .364 and tripled twice in her freshman season.

"Sadie Heming, she was a pinch hitter for us last year, and she came in clutch," said Piatt. "She's someone that, even with two strikes, I felt like she did her best when she got down to two strikes. You're going to see big things from Sadie. Ella [Moser] is locking down shortstop. She's moving well, she's stepping up her leadership. Zoe [Griffin], she's a redshirt, she's hitting the ball well. And then Taylor [Hanshaw], she's going to bat leadoff for me this year, she's strong."

Piatt emphasized that Hanshaw and Griffin, two student-athletes who redshirted last season, factor into West Valley's successful redshirt program. While they're new names to the lineup, the two have been around the program and got to see firsthand the success of last years' team.

Still, there are some new faces that will burst on the scene this season. Miranda Temple, a transfer from UC Berkeley, was a top-50 recruit by Extra Innings Softball in the class of 2024 and brings speed and defense to the West Valley infield. Piatt is also excited about true freshmen like Isabella Paskert, Angelina Fulkerson and Destiny Solis, who has some big shoes to fill behind the dish.

"Izzy, I'm really excited for her," said Piatt, "she's going to see time at shortstop to get her feet wet. If her hitting comes along, she could definitely work her way somewhere in the lineup. Angie Fulkerson, she's my third baseman, she swings a good stick, so I'm excited about her. Destiny Solis, she's my catcher, and talk about leader. She's going to lead the charge. She's definitely going to be someone to keep an eye on."

Batting in the middle of West Valley's order, Piatt would not be surprised if Fulkerson hit a home run or two and replaced some of the power that the Vikings lost from last year.

"We're meshing well," said Piatt. "We're coming together. The improvement is on the trust. The team is trusting that the preparation and the process that we've been telling about, they're seeing the results. You can see the confidence building. Just the level of trust, and confidence, that's where the growth is coming."

West Valley opens its season on the road, taking on Sacramento City up north, with first pitch scheduled at 2:00 PM on Thursday, January 29.

"I'm so pumped," said Piatt. "We just had an excellent last few days of practice. Last week was solid. I'm so excited for Thursday."