Freshman infielder Liz Jusko reaches third base, but is unable to score in
the Trojans 8-0 loss to first place rival Bellevue Community College (9-3).

The EvCC women's fast-pitch team has made winning look easy through its first league games of the season, but a trip down to Arizona proved that nothing was easy in AZ.

The Trojan women got the opportunity to play in a tournament in Arizona from March 13 to March 15 where they played against some of the elite competition in the area.

And those teams definitely played like the elite competition, beating the Trojans by a combined score of seven to 47 in the five games played with the only win coming against Scottsdale Community College (6-5).

"We go down there to play good competition to make us better," said head coach Randy Smith. "So these girls see some of the best teams in the country."

Some of the teams the Trojans played include Yavapai College, Eastern Arizona Community College and Glendale Community College who have played at least 53 games this season. The Trojans have played 25 games.

"We are a freshman dominated team and we got to go down there and show that we aren't intimidated by anybody."

A trip to Arizona is not free, so you may be wondering where the team was able to come up with the money to go to this tournament.

"The team raised all of the money themselves," said athletic director Larry Walker. "If a program wants to make a trip like that I tell them they need to raise the money for it themselves."

Walker said that the team raised the money through a fundraiser they held at the Puyallup Fair.

According to Walker, instead of using school money the fast-pitch team will raise their own money for their trips, which may also include tournaments in Oregon, new gear or whatever they choose to spend it on.

Smith said that the trip to Arizona will definitely help them to get better, especially in the second half of the season where the Trojans will have already learned from the best of competitors.

The Trojans proved this when they won their first seven league games of the season and are currently 8-4 and fourth place in the North Division.

"These girls have been working hard all season," Smith said. "A lot of the scores haven't shown how well this team has played."