The Sedona Red Rock High School’s softball team’s 2024 season will get underway with an away game against the Mayer Wildcats, followed by their home opener on Thursday, Feb. 29, at 3 p.m. — also against the Wildcats.

“That’s a good team to play against to see where we are at,” athletic director and softball head coach Pedro Ortega Sr. said. “Everybody [is] making contact [with the ball when batting]. They’re working hard and having fun as we do it. Because it’s key [at] the high school level and level they were playing, you must have fun to improve in what you do.” Ortega’s initial game plan is teaching the team to play with energy and speed.

SRRHS Softball Roster

• Anna Jennings
• Alyla Brooks
• Adalynn Moore
• Phoebe Swaninger
• Yanixa Dominguez
• Lorena Flores-Juarez
• Diana Garcia
• Brittney Hansbraugh
• Leiny Carrera
• Natali Rodriguez
• Maya Esquer
• Diana Alvarez Araiza
• Victoria Araiza
• Velkin Zentero
• Dayanna Landaverde
• Lucy Hansbraugh

“I believe they’re going to improve a lot as we go, week by week, and day by day, and then game by game,” Ortega said. “I really believe we’re a .500 club … But we [will] get to know a lot on our first game and see we get a lot of data after that game and we can work on fundamentals and hitting the ball.”

The Scorpions are looking to improve on their 1-12 record from last season, in which they were 0-9 in conference play with their sole win coming from a forfeit by Desert Heights Preparatory Academy. Last year’s team was predominantly made up of freshmen, and Ortega is optimistic that last year’s experience will translate into greater success with the seven now-sophomores.Ortega said that their infield work and pitching is “pretty solid,” with senior Alyla Brooks bringing over a decade of softball experience to the mound.

“I’ve pitched basically my entire life because I played little league,” Brooks said. “So I’m usually not super-stressed when I play pitcher, it actually calms me down. Even if I’m doing bad, I still don’t get super-stressed … It’s because I know I’m in control of it. So, if I’m doing bad, I know that eventually I can fix it, and I know what I need to do to fix it so I can do better next time.”

Brooks added that her batting goal is to top an infield home run she made during her freshman year: “I want to hit it out of the park.”

“I just really enjoy the sport, and the people that surround it,” Brooks said. “Whenever I’m on the field, I feel like I’m myself and I don’t feel like I have to be anything different. Everyone here is just here to play and have fun.”

“I’m going to go to Yavapai [College] because I’m not sure when I want to do [as] a career choice,” Brooks said. “Then if I figure out something I want to do and I need to go to a bigger university, then I’ll choose that … Then because I’m a lifeguard at the pool over the summer during the off season, I’ll probably find a job to keep me going.”

Sophomore Adalynn Moore will be playing both sides of the mound this season.

“[Moore] can probably start throwing bullpens,” Ortega said. “She was a first baseman last year. She had transitioned to catching because we lost our catcher from last year, so she’ll be pitching and catching whenever.”

Another acquisition that Ortega saw as beneficial was transfer student Phoebe Swaninger, who joined the team since her father Tom Swaninger was hired as SOCSD superintendent.

“[Phoebe Swaninger] used to play second base [and] made a transition to play shortstop,” Ortega said. “I like what I see from what she can bring to help the team … I [could] see her skills. [I] automatically saw her as a shortstop because she’s smart and has a good sense of the game.”

Swaninger noted that she is progressing in the new position and has been adjusting well to her new school.

“I just moved here from Chandler and I’ve only been here for a little more than a month now,” Swaninger said. “I haven’t played in a year since my last season at my old school. But it’s nice to know that [Ortega] trusts me in that [role], it’s fun there … I think a big strength [of this team] is just believing in everyone. Because everybody is cheering everybody … They’re really just trying to help everyone, and everybody’s pretty good at hitting too.”

Anna Jennings, a senior, will be playing second base and will be the leadoff hitter.

“Fielding, catching fly balls [and] stopping the ball, not letting it get past them,” Jennings said when asked about the team’s strengths. “ I’ve seen a lot more of that this year that I haven’t seen in past years. So just a lot of improvement from everybody, including myself, and we have some strong hitters.” “She has a great attitude, so I’m expecting a lot of things from her in the leadoff position,” Ortega said. 

Jennings hoped that the improvements she has seen will translate into turning more double plays, something that she noted previous teams have struggled with. Her first over the- fence home run is one of her major goals heading into the season, and she is also thinking about what comes after her time at SRRHS.

“I’m going to college in South Carolina, Anderson University,” Jennings said. “And I’m going to be studying communications and digital media. So learning how to advertise and promote brands, which I’m super excited about. I hope I’m able to use softball somehow, maybe coaching a little league team. I don’t want to leave softball after this year.”

“I like what I see so far,” Ortega said. “The girls are showing a lot of interest in learning, they’re coachable. I think this is going be a fun group to see.”