Pacific Index

Pacific Softball starts their season with optimism as their forefront 

   “The future is bright,” shared Head Coach of Pacific University’s women’s softball team Shelly Prohaska with a smile. As they enter the spring season, the team is eager to gain early momentum, build confidence, and demonstrate how much they have grown. During their 2025 campaign, the Boxers posted an 8-20 conference record and finished sixth overall. This year, they are determined to turn their experience into success, aiming for a winning record and conference championship title. 

   With high hopes on the horizon, the team is relying on their culture and experience to pull them through. Their strongest asset is their leadership, culture, and overall upperclassmen experience. “We are going to be upperclassmen led this year with the majority of them being starters,” Prohaska explained. The team has five seniors and thirteen juniors on their roster to begin the season, and plenty more ready to prove themselves.

   Chemistry is going to go hand-in-hand with the experience the Boxers already have. “I think the chemistry is going to help a lot with not having to relearn each other,” shared Prohaska. “Even if we have some ups and downs I really hope their chemistry is what keeps us going.” The team spends a lot of time together on and off the field which adds to their overall team chemistry and culture. One of the public ways the team shows their togetherness and community is the social media posts they share, mainly on Instagram. Making fun videos, interviewing teammates, and sharing clips of their lives gives their Boxer fans and outside spectators a perspective into their lives and their personalities. 

   “I can’t promise that we will have more wins than last year, but I know that we are going to be more competitive,” Prohaska assured optimistically. “When you are more competitive, anything can happen.” Last season’s results did not show the whole story of this Pacific team. There were many games where bases were loaded and one hit would change the game, Coach Prohaska explained. “We were actually in the games more than the scoreboard displayed,” Prohaska shared. 

   Heading into the competition this year, the Boxers travel to compete against nine different teams on the road. “Road games are fun because you get to bond more, but they are ultimately mentally taxing as well,” Prohaska stated. Their farthest trip is to California to play Chapman University, Whitman University, and Occidental College for their opening weekend of preseason play. 

   “We are hungry,” Prohaska shares as a parting remark. The women are ready to play and compete and show how hungry they are to win.