After taking a hard loss of 5-0 against Milpitas High School (9-1-1, 6-0) on March 29, the Palo Alto High School softball team (5-3, 2-2) hopes to bounce back after a week-long break and take down its cross-town rival, the Gunn High School Titans (4-5, 2-1), at 4 p.m. tomorrow at Paly. 

According to star senior pitcher Mackenzie Glassford, the team is optimistic about tomorrow’s game despite the recent struggles.

“I’m pretty confident that we can beat Gunn,” Glassford said. “Our past couple of games didn’t go as well as they could have, so we’re all motivated to play our best on Wednesday and come out with a win. We also really want to win this game because of the rivalry between our schools, so I think we can definitely beat them.”

Senior outfielder Taylor Duncan shares a similar outlook, while emphasizing the importance of practice.

“I think if we play like we’ve been playing — strong and aggressive — then we’ll do well,” Duncan said. “We prepared by focusing in practice and by putting that work in.”

Although the Vikings lost their most recent game, they have a had a strong season so far, crushing several of their opponents by double digits. Glassford credits her teammates and their reliability on the field.

“[Senior captain and third baseman] Maggie Renteria and [junior shortstop] Sophie Frick have both been standing out so far this season,” Glassford said. “They’re both really strong infielders and have been hitting well pretty consistently. We’ve been consistent on offense and defense, and if we keep playing the way we have been, we have a pretty good chance at winning [El Camino] League.

The team’s success also has to do immensely with its strong team chemistry between players, according to Duncan.

“We have been gelling together as a team, and by building our chemistry, our performance really improves,” Duncan said.