St. Monica High School Softball Is Battery-Powered

When and are in the "zone," their teammates know that the odds of winning are high. The trust the two have in one another is absolute, and their cohesiveness is a big reason 's softball team is off to a promising 3-3 start this spring.

Wolansky is the Mariners' ace pitcher, and Villa is the starting catcher. They seem to be so in sync with each other on the diamond that oftentimes head coach just folds his arms in the dugout and lets them call the shots.

Usually, the scenario unfolds as follows: Villa signals what to throw, Wolansky delivers the pitch, and the home plate umpire yells, "Steeee-rike!"

"I like to call my own game," said Villa, a junior who has played on varsity since she was a freshman. "[Rodriguez] is starting to be more loose about that, but sometimes he tells us we can do it."

Describing his pitcher, who was the Most Valuable Player and First-Team All-League last year, Rodriguez said Wolansky's "mechanics are very good. She's small but intelligent. She's an AP student. And she's good for six to nine strikeouts a game."

Wolansky says her dad introduced her to the sport when she was 3 and since then has developed a wide array of pitches—her favorite being the slider, because "it really moves." Through her first five starts, her earned run average was 0.51, she allowed 16 hits with 31 strikeouts and 13 walks, and pitched four complete games. She also had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.

"Alex never gives up," said Villa, who met Wolansky the summer before she started at St. Monica. "It doesn't matter if we're ahead or behind or what the situation is."

A case in point is last Friday's game against Immaculate Heart, when Wolansky pitched without her contact lenses until the third inning, yet kept her team close until the Mariners rallied to tie it in the top of the sixth.

"The chemistry is there, and this team really tries, so I think we can go a long way," said Wolansky, who will play next spring at Feather River Community College in Quincy, a small town in Northern California. "We were second [in league] to La Salle last year, so this year we want to win it."

Also a First-Team All-League choice last season, Villa leads the squad in slugging at .769 and has four runs, four hits, four runs batted in and two home runs so far. 

"She's a natural behind the plate, very tough, very intuitive and very intelligent—that's her greatest asset," Rodriguez said of Villa. "She's also money at the plate. She really digs in and works the count."

Rodriguez, now in his 25th season, sees the potential for this year's team to be one of his best, with his battery back along with All-League outfielder , a three-sport athlete who hit .338 and drove in 18 runs last season.

"She's explosive, fast and strong," Rodriguez said of Hernandez, a senior who also plays volleyball and basketball at St. Monica. "She's playing sports year-round, but softball is what she wants to play at the next level."

After opening the season 3-0, the Mariners moved up to No. 7 in this week's Southern Section Division 5 rankings after being on the "others" list the week before, just outside the Top 10. St. Monica travels to Gardena for a nonleague game with Serra on Thursday afternoon.

"Our role players are stepping up and some girls have switched positions, but anytime you have your pitcher and catcher back, that's huge," Rodriguez said. "They are the hardest to replace."

With their "Alex and Alex" battery fully charged, the Mariners hope to remain energized for a deep run in the CIF playoffs.