Softball opens its 2022 Western State Conference schedule at home this Thursday (2:30) against the Ventura Pirates.  The Cougars and the Pirates were the dominant teams in the WSC during the aughts, when they combined to share or claim nine of the decades ten titles, but since then they have each ended atop the loop only once.  The Pirates won the title in 2012 and the Cougars, after a period of seven coaches in ten years, finally reached the top of the WSC standings in 2020 only to have the pandemic end their season.  Coach Jenel Guadagno is in her fifth season and has successfully led the program out of the wilderness.  She rebuilt the Cougars after taking the helm and entered this season boasting a 25-8 record during the past two pandemic shortened seasons.  The Cougars also host a WSC Inter-divisional twinbill against College of the Canyons this Saturday (1/3 PM).  The Cougars have battled through a tough pre-season schedule and enter WSC play with an 8-11 overall record, while the Pirates are the current title favorites with a record with ten wins in 14 games.  The Canyons Cougars are another tough team for Cuesta.  They are 9-4-1 and ranked #13 in the SoCal Region.

The Cougars posted a 1-3 record last week with four games against Northern California teams.  The Cougars split a doubleheader against Hartnell in Salinas on Tuesday, where they dropped the opener, 10-9, but bounced back to win the nightcap, 3-1.  On Saturday, Cuesta was swept at Monterey Peninsula, 3-2 and 8-2.