Central Catholic softball continues to mature behind talented youngsters

Published 10:34 pm Thursday, May 15, 2025

By Austin White

After a couple down years, the Central Catholic High School softball team lept back up the standings in 2024 behind a couple strong seniors, ultimately winning the Mt. Hood Conference and landing the No. 5 seed in the postseason.

In 2025, the Rams have plenty of talent back and are growing in their leadership each week as a team with only two seniors.

This season, the Rams are 11-9 overall and 9-3 in MHC play, a game back of Gresham who they split their two-game series with.

With all that talent back, it’s been about growth this season for the Rams who hope that they are starting to peak at the right time.

“We’re definitely finding our stride,” Rams head coach TJ Pruneda said. “We had a really tough nonleague schedule… We found our bumps and bruises and our growing pains. Only two seniors, so we have a lot of youth. But getting into league play we’re finding our stride right when we’re supposed to, which is always an encouraging thing.”

One underclassman who has felt comfortable the whole time though is sophomore Olivia Pompetti, the reigning Mt. Hood Player of the Year after an incredible offensive season in 2024.

She hasn’t missed a beat in 2025, currently hitting .500 with a team-high 28 RBI and a .605 on-base percentage. She’s also hit two home runs this season.

Above the gaudy numbers though is her development into a leader for the Rams since she will be looked to by the program for the rest of the season and two more years after this.

“She’s jumped from third base to short, so she’s taking on a lot of responsibility, a lot of extra pressure that we’ve thrown on her and she’s done a great job,” Pruneda said. “She’s getting into her leadership role, really take control of the infield and really lead by example. She’s doing a great job defensively, offensively and I know she has big goals and aspirations to keep building every year.”

Luckily, Pompetti does still have two seniors to help her out in the leadership department with Da’Liese Lomax and Ava Rose.

Lomax is the starting catcher, a position she took on last year after years away from home plate through middle and high school.

She hasn’t missed a beat though and is batting .371 with the second most RBI on the team with 22.

“(Lomax) has worked her butt off all summer and all fall to really step into that behind-the-plate leader role,” Pruneda said. “She’s really grown into that catcher mentality where she’s always looking for the next play. Offensively, she’s in the four-spot for a reason, she’s dangerous at any time, she’s aggressive and she’s really smart.”

Having Lomax right behind Pompetti has been contributing to the Rams potent offense that averages 7.5 runs per game.

Another big piece of that is another sophomore and a lefty hitter in Portland Razo, who might be the quickest player in the state.

Batting leadoff, the centerfielder is hitting .407 with a .532 OBP, and she makes every appearance hurt with 37 stolen bases and 31 runs scored.

“(Razo) does a great job of leading our outfielders,” Pompetti said. “She does a great job of just getting on, we can always expect to have a runner on when we have Portland in our lineup, lucky to have her.”

The fun certainly doesn’t stop with those three as the lineup is filled with power and contact hitters that can get the job done in any situation.

Freshman Grace Schellinkhout is hitting .475 with 17 RBI and sophomore Jaspen Lauderback-Smith is hitting .344 with 15 RBI, just to name a couple more standouts. Lauderback-Smith is the main pitcher as well, holding a 5.22 ERA in 104.2 IP with 80 strikeouts and 55 walks.

It’s an all-around team performance that has the Rams sitting at No. 22 in the OSAA rankings, a number that seems to be underestimating where this roster really is.

“We’ve been having a lot of fun this season,” Pompetti said. “We work hard in practice, we hold each other accountable, we make sure we push each other as hard as we can. And I think that bond shows on the field with how we play.”

The loss to Gresham hurt the Rams’ chances of repeating as Mt. Hood champs with only two games left in the league slate, but they’re comfortably into the postseason no matter where they finish.

Central Catholic closes the season with a 6 p.m. game Friday, May 16 at Clackamas and a 5 p.m. matchup Tuesday, May 20 at David Douglas.

It’s all about finding consistency as the first round of the playoffs begins May 26. And even though the Rams’ record looks a little different in 2025, they expect to make a run in a couple weeks.

“I want to see us go deep in the playoffs, I think we have all the pieces to do it, now it’s just time,” Pompetti said. “This team’s got it, so I’m excited to see what happens.”

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