Historic, Fast Early-Season Start for Softball

by Cerwin D Haynes

(thumbnail courtesy of 

It's very early in spring, but not too early for hope to spring eternal.

For 2026 East LA College softball, the early returns not only bring hope but - for the first time post-Covid - real promise: The Huskies have raced out to a 6-0 start for the first time in program history. Leading the way is freshman P Nadine Gutierrez, a former San Francisco State commit. She's been simply dominant out the gate: giving up only seven earned runs and 23 hits over 33.0 innings while striking out a state-leading 58 batters (the next highest is 30). She's started and won all six games so far.

"Big time," says ELAC Athletic Director Bobby Godinez. "She's good."

On the offensive side, ELAC is batting .416 overall, scoring 56 runs over this opening stretch. Leading the early charge is sophomore OF Bella Garcia; she's got 13 hits in 19 ABs while driving in a team-high 12 RBI. Freshman C/INF Emily Ramirez has 11 hits in her first 21 ABs and has scored nine runs batting leadoff.

"The girls are putting in the work," noted head coach Erika Blanco. And it should be noted that Coach Blanco has put in some work during this past offseason: greatly dissatified with the program's previous three-year stretch were wins were at a premium, Blanco left no stone unturned throughout all the local and regional high schools to unearth fresh talent. Again, it's early, but the roster has shown an overall level of sharpness - both in fielding ability and offensive execution - that was missing in previous seasons.

UP NEXT:

The Pack will be off for several days before they enter their first test of the season: conference road games against Long Beach City, Mt SAC and El Camino; all three schools are a combined 10-0 so far.

LBCC will be first up on March 5th.