The Del Mar Dons had a rough rebuilding season after going 5-20 in 2016. Julie Kawamoto enters her second season at the helm of the program in 2017.
The Dons lose their main starting pitcher from a season ago along with three seniors, however they return nine players who all got plenty of experience in the 2016 rebuild. Among the nine returners, they’ll have one senior, three juniors, and five sophomores on top of the new freshman class that will be coming in.
The only problem the Dons have right now is the pitching depth. Sophomore Kasandra Wilson is the only player on the team with experience.
While the Dons lose their best hitter from last season in Kaitlin Dunkle who had a .609 average, they return Junior Danica Vukcevich who was second on the team (.418), Wilson (.417), Sophomore Taylor Collins (.409), and Junior Karolina Nava (.400). So the team does return other offensive weapons.
It will be interesting how the team does in year two under Kawamoto. If you are interested in donating to the program, you can contact Kawamoto on ways to donate.