Sun Devils Suffer First Defeat of Season, Prepare for All-stars

Ken Hubbs Major Sun Devils represented the city of Colton at the inaugural Little League Softball tournament held at the Little League West Region Headquarters in San Bernardino Saturday, May 14. Ken Hubbs was eliminated by Banning Pass, 3-7. The Sun Devils have been undefeated all season, but according to manager Jesse Farias, that game was “not one of our better days.” However, he said they also had a good experience. “Overall, the girls still went out there and had fun,” Farias said. “It was about the experience and them being out there on that field.” Farias manages the 11- and 12-year-old girls group for Ken Hubbs Memorial Little League and has been coaching for the last seven years while his daughter has been on the team. The group of 12 girls practices six days a week, including traveling to Orange County and Los Angeles to play away games while also playing home games on the weekend. “My girls are pretty goal-orientated,” Farias said. “They live, breathe and are all about softball.” The girls practice at Veterans Park in Colton, and Farias said many of them have their own personal hitting, catching and pitching coaches on the side. “These girls are really dedicated to softball,” he said. He has had about five or six girls who have remained consistently with the team for the past five years and praised the girls for their ability to not only improve themselves but also improve the team around them. “When the new girls come in and I still have the five that have been with me for a while, they just kind of make all the other girls better around them,” Farias said. “The girls watch them play, they watch how good they are and how they carry themselves, and they make a lot of other girls better a lot, also.” According to Farias, most of the girls already know what school they want to attend when they get older and have their sights set on Division I. Farias said he has girls wanting to go to the University of California, Los Angeles, University of Oregon, Oklahoma and Florida. One even wants to be a brain surgeon. The Sun Devils are currently the No. 1 team in the league and are preparing for All-stars, whose team will be announced June 1. As the first place team, Farias will be able to coach the All-star team that is selected. “We’re going to come back with a vengeance,” he joked. They are nearly done with their regular season with just a few games left, and Farias said they are aiming to get back to Western Regionals. “We’re looking forward to hopefully getting back there this year and playing,” he said. Even with the loss to Banning Pass, Farias said he continues to tell the girls to be humble and work on improving. “You’re not always going to perform at your best,” he said. “You’re going to have days off. The main thing is about trying to be consistent and always trying to get better.”