The Lynbrook softball team atoned for an earlier loss to Mountain View by defeating the visiting Spartans 12-4 on Wednesday.
Lynbrook fell behind 2-0 after one-half inning, but rallied in its half of the first. Caity Prada knocked in one run with a double and then came home when her sister, Theresa Prada, hit a single.
The Vikings then took the lead in the second inning on a three-run double by Rebecca Hatton.
Lynbrook's offense took over after that as the Vikings piled up runs and hits (22 for the game). The Vikings also played well on defense, turning a double play and catching a Spartan in a rundown.
Lynbrook coach Stacey Benzing thinks spring break benefited the Vikings.
"Believe it or not, [before this week,] we haven't practiced since the Wednesday before break.” Benzing said.
“We didn't have a good game right before break, we were beat really bad by Saratoga so it was kind of like a, 'Do what you need to do to mentally refresh, go on vacation, spend time with your family, hang out with your friends,' that kind of stuff. But we just gave them the week off and they came out on fire the last two days of practice.”
Benzing was most pleased with previously struggling players who excelled.
"I'm just really proud of every single one of them from top to bottom. We had a friendly competition going on between the Prada sisters, but it was nice to see some of the girls that have been struggling throughout the year or who haven't been making that many hits [perform well] today. From first person in the lineup all the way down, we wouldn't have scored as many runs as we did if it wasn't for any single one of them."
Added senior co-captain Manisha Sriram: "A majority of it is that every time we've had a good game, it's when we come out with confidence. Our games that we did badly in, we were doubting ourselves, but today we came out with good energy and charisma and that helped from the beginning."
The outstanding performance has spurred optimism among the Vikings.
“I think we're going to continue to do much better," Caity Prada said. "[In] the first half we had our jitters and now we should hopefully win some more games."
The Spartans host Saratoga on Friday. Lynbrook is at Gunn.
