FREMONT – The Fremont Ross Lady Giants kicked off their 2025 softball season at home last evening, facing off against a strong Eastwood squad. Despite a determined effort, a late-inning rally fell just short as the Lady Giants dropped a hard-fought 6-5 contest.
The Lady Giants struggled to find their rhythm at the plate early on, unable to break through against Eastwood’s stingy defense. A few defensive miscues coupled with timely hitting by the Eagles saw Fremont Ross fall behind by six runs as they entered the bottom of the seventh inning.
Refusing to go down without a fight, the Lady Giants’ bats came alive in the final frame. Sophomore Jersey Smith (‘26) ignited the comeback effort with a solo home run to put her team on the board. Fellow sophomore M. Hammer (‘26) and junior S. Gross (‘25) followed with back-to-back singles, setting the stage for senior K. Tooman (‘25), who delivered a clutch RBI triple to cut the deficit in half.
The momentum continued as freshman R. Almaguer (‘27) crushed a triple of her own, bringing the Lady Giants within two runs. Freshman B. Berndt (‘28) kept the rally going with an RBI double to narrow the gap to just one. However, despite their valiant effort, the Lady Giants couldn’t push across the tying run, ultimately falling 6-5.
Fremont Ross tallied an impressive 11 hits on the night. Freshman right-hander Brooklyn Berndt (‘28) took the circle for the Lady Giants, going the distance with a solid performance. Berndt allowed six runs (three earned) on seven hits while striking out eight in her varsity debut.
The Lady Giants will look to bounce back on Tuesday when they hit the road to take on the Perkins Pirates in their first away matchup of the season.