Back-to-back! Holtville softball earns second straight IVL title with win over Central

A pitchers duel ended up in favor of the Vikings' Kalli Strahm as Holtville earned their second consecutive league title - 13 On Your Side's Luis Lopez reports

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - Holtville Vikings softball (18-5) is once again at the top of the mountain for Imperial Valley softball.

A 2-1 win over the Central Spartans (4-18) clinched the Imperial Valley League title for the second straight season.

In a game where head coach Melissa Snyder expected the Vikings' bats to lead the way, it ended up being a pitchers duel that Holtville found themselves on the right side of.

"You would have thought we'd have a little more offensive run support, but I feel like a win is a win, and I'm not going to take that away from these girls," Snyder said.

Senior pitcher Kalli Strahm came though with a great start, giving up only the one run en route to the league title win.

"Every pitch I'm competing, giving my best shot, in order to win games we have to win the small battles, and to me the small battles is winning every pitch winning every at-bat," Strahm said.

Snyder credited her team's work ethic as one of the biggest reasons for coming away with another title.

"These girls just work so hard day in and day out, you know they really are a family, they've built this program with sisterhood," Snyder said.

As a direct part of that sisterhood, Strahm feels the same way, especially with already knowing what winning a title is like.

"Once you have that feeling, you know that you want to experience that again, so we put in a lot of work in the offseason," Strahm said.

Next up for the Vikings will be senior night against the Calexico Bulldogs on Thursday, May 11.