Though the San José City College Jaguars did not make it beyond the CCCAA Super Regional playoffs, their season ended on a high note as one of their own threw out the first pitch of a major league baseball game.
Jaguar Malia Venegas, who plays third base, got the honor on May 13, throwing out the ceremonial pitch in the matchup between the Giants and Dodgers at Oracle Park. It was part of the Giants dedicating the night to California Community Colleges and the I Can Go To College Campaign.
Softball Head Coach Debbie Huntze-Rooney, SJCC President Rowena M. Tomaneng, and California Community College Chancellor Sonya Christian joined Venegas at the mound. At the same time, her excited teammates cheered her on from the stands, along with tens of thousands of Giants and Dodgers fans.
The night was a well-deserved celebration for a team that worked through adversity and played hard to reach the NorCal regional playoffs. The Lady Jags went 31-11 for the season, with one of the victories marking an outstanding milestone. In March, Rooney notched her 900th career win and did it with her 33rd Jaguar team.
Rooney’s post-season accomplishments include 28 regional playoff appearances, ten Coast Conference championships, and five Elite Eight state championship appearances. She did not disappoint this season, helping her team get through the first round of the NorCal regionals by beating Reedley College in three games.
Photo by Oscar Lopez
The Super Regionals Sweet 16 against Sierra College didn’t go the Jags’ way, but it was a hard-fought series that went the full three games. Team #33 also had some standout players who received statewide attention, including:
All State – Evangelina Chavarria, Malia Venegas
All NorCal -Deja Jimenez, Evangelina Chavarria, Deja Jimenez, Avery Mytnik, Malia Venegas
All Conference Second Team
Faamaai Ulu, Aleki Ulu, Jayden Vai
Honorable Mention
Shimon Davis, Karissa Smith
The high-achieving Jaguar sophomores will move on with high GPAs, scholarships in hand, and acceptance letters from their dream schools, and like the 32 teams that went before, they will always appreciate how they learned to play ball the Jaguar way.
