LA MIRADA--- The Biola Women's Softball team brought on six freshmen to join their returning group of 13.

The six newcomers include Kayla Bousquette, DJ Symons, Colby McClinton, Cami Lara, Allie Medrano and Paige Gonzales.

"I am really excited for the team we have this year," exclaimed head coach Kristin Halte. "Our focus this year is playing together and I believe our group is beginning to mesh well with one another." 

Of the six freshmen there are two pitchers, one middle infielder, two utility players and an outfielder. 

Bousquette and Symons are Biola's new hurlers. Halte reflected, "We have depth in the circle with our two new additions. Kayla comes from a high-level travel ball team where she has competed against some of the top prospects in the country and Debra Jayne is a lefty who adds more depth for us in the circle."

Bousquette attended Heritage Christian High School where she played four years on varsity. Bousquette accumulated 895 strikeouts for the Warriors, earning herself the school record for most career strikeouts. During her senior season, she had a season-high of 306 strikeouts. Bousquette was named a team MVP twice and a defensive MVP once. She also received honors such as Second Team All-League and was a two time First Team All-League selection.

Symons came to Biola from Washington and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 2022. At Roosevelt, she played four years on varsity where she averaged a 2.38 ERA and totaled 392 strikeouts throughout her career.

Symons garnered several awards at Roosevelt including All-Metro League MVP Pitcher, Roosevelt High School's Ben Snowden Scholar Athlete Award Recipient, Defensive MVP for Roosevelt High School Varsity, Team MVP for Roosevelt High School Varsity, Seattle Metro All Sound Division Pitcher, honorable mention for Top 10 pitchers in Washington, and was a team captain for two years.

McClinton will be another option for Biola's infield. "Colby McClinton is from Hawaii and she is a very strong addition to not only our defense but our offense as well." commented Halte. 

McClinton is a Kamehameha Schools Kapalama graduate who played four years of varsity. In 2022, McClinton averaged a .386 batting average her senior season. While playing for the Warriors, McClinton was Second Team All-Conference and Second Team All-State.

McClinton was also on the Principal's List and had a 4.1 GPA her final semester of  high school.

Biola's next additions are two multi-position players: Lara and Medrano. "Camilla and Allie are both great hitters who can play multiple positions," mentioned Halte.

Lara is a California native who primarily plays catcher and third base. Lara graduated from Millikan High School where she played four years on varsity. Throughout her career she averaged .381 in the batter's box, .552 on the base path, and slugged .381.

 While at Millikan, Lara's team was two-time conference Champions and individually she was a Second Team All-League selection.

Medrano comes to the Eagles from Colorado and graduated from Horizon High School. Medrano played four years of varsity and batted above .400 for two seasons, her highest season batting average was .476 her senior year. Medrano was also efficient on the base path where she averaged above .500 for two seasons, her highest on-base percentage was .556 her senior year.

While Medrano played for the Hawks, they were League Champions twice, Regional Champions, and Final Four in State. Individually, Medrano received several awards including First Team All-State, First Team All-Conference, Second Team All-Conference and a All-Conference Honorable Mention.

Gonzales wraps up the group of six. "Paige Gonzales gives us some extra depth in the outfield and speed on the bases," reflected Halte.

Gonzales comes to Biola from Texas where she graduated from Cornerstone Christian Schools. Gonzales played four years on varsity for the Warriors and was a Medina Valley Tournament MVP.

Halte concluded, "I'm extremely excited to see what this freshmen class does as I know this group will have an immediate impact on the field."

Biola opens up the season with an exhibition game at Freedom Field. The Eagles are set to play Westcliff tomorrow Saturday, Jan. 21 at 12 p.m. Their first countable game of the season is Thursday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m. against Northwest Nazarene.