SHERMAN OAKS — The Notre Dame softball team has stolen 46 bases in 17 games this season.
“We all steal a lot,” Knights junior shortstop Nadia Ledon said. “Even if the catcher is good, we always try to advance and get the base. We even steal third sometimes. Our coach believes in us and it’s crucial that we do that so we can score.”
It’s one part game plan and one bigger part confidence.
The Knights are playing for their fourth straight Mission League title with a rebuilt culture under third-year head coach Justin Siegel and assistant coach Brian Luderer.
“I told them yesterday in the locker room, ‘You guys have set a standard now,’ ” Siegel said. “Seniors, you did this. Juniors, you’ve upheld. Sophomores, you’re living this. Freshmen, you’re learning this. Now, we get to a place next year where your job is to teach the next person.”
Notre Dame (14-3 overall, 2-0 Mission League) is No. 23 in the latest CIF Southern Section power rankings and is on a 13-game win streak. Thursday’s Mission League contest against Harvard-Westlake was rained out and will be rescheduled for a later date.
The Knights have blanked five teams with a pitching staff that has a combined ERA of 1.84. Junior Aaliyah Garcia (8-3) owns the lowest ERA at 1.44 while also hitting .400.
The offense doesn’t let up, either.
Ledon, Jackie Morales and Haley Maldonado are all hitting .500 or above. Seven players on the roster have batting averages of .400 or better.
“Making hard contact is something that’s really important,” Morales said. “We give our pitchers cushion and allow them to not worry about striking out every batter or having to make something super. They can just be themselves and do what they know they can.”
Morales is one of the top-performing freshmen on the team and is hitting .519. She leads the team in RBIs with 27.
Ledon leads the team with a .585 batting average and the New Mexico State commit also has 13 RBIs, six doubles, seven triples and three home runs. She also leads the team in stolen bases with 10.
This season, she’s working on the intangibles.
“Better mentality and body language,” Ledon said. “Sometimes if I don’t do well in an at-bat, it can bring me down, but I’ve learned over the years with these coaches not to do that — to have better body language because it affects like everybody.”
Ledon and the three seniors — Alexa Miranda, Adelyne Cowgill and Adiah Fountain — are modeling behavior that fits the Notre Dame standard for a freshman class of six. All of those freshmen are getting playing opportunities in a schedule that has included tough competition like Pacifica, King and Chino Hills.
“We challenged them early,” Siegel said. “We stopped, we watched film with them and showed them what they’re doing and how they can improve on it. And we work on routines. We work on the mental game so that they understand.”
The work the coaching staff has put into developing a hard-working culture that empowers its players is showing.
Siegel and Luderer introduced 6 a.m. lifting sessions when they took over the program. This season, the team was allowed to choose whether they wanted to lift before school or after school.
The Knights still wanted 6 a.m.
“We’re staying humble,” Ledon said. “We keep working how we usually do, and we’re not changing anything. We’re just gonna continue.”