SAN JOSE — Alanna Clincy was the engine behind the best season in Willow Glen softball history. 

The Rams’ junior superstar was the biggest reason Willow Glen won every game in the regular season, going unblemished at 26-0. And to the bitter end, Clincy was there to lead the Rams to the brink of something even bigger.

Willow Glen fell a bit short of its ultimate goal, losing an epic extra-inning game to St. Francis in the Central Coast Section Open Division championship game. But what the Rams accomplished with Clincy at the helm will not be forgotten.  

Clincy, who is committed to play at Cal when she is done with Willow Glen, went 22-0 with a microscopic 0.39 ERA and 216 strikeouts in 125 ⅔ innings. She also made key contributions at the plate, hitting .290 with 25 runs batted in and three home runs. 

The Rams lost their final two games, including a tight NorCal defeat to Del Oro-Loomis, but Clincy remained unbeaten all year. 

“Having a star pitcher, Division I athlete is extremely huge,” Willow Glen coach Don Spingola said after Clincy threw a complete game in the Rams’ CCS semifinal win over Capuchino. “Especially when she’s on the mound. We go into every game, the girls go into every game confident. Our goal has always been three runs, and we should be good with her on the mound. And not a lot of teams can say that. So we are very fortunate to have her.”

In that game against Capuchino, a 5-1 win, Clincy also manufactured her own offense with a two-run double to left-center field. When she’s on the mound, she doesn’t need a whole lot – one swing of her own bat can do the trick.

“I was very much relieved that I could pitch with some sort of lead,” Clincy said after getting the game-winning hit. “It gives me more confidence to go right at the batter and not have to be afraid that they’re gonna hit a home run and they’re ahead.”

While she admitted that pitching takes up most of her time, Clincy’s all-around presence anchored the Rams on both sides of the ball. She contributed in some way in every game and gave Willow Glen the belief it could beat any opponent. 

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Twenty-eight times in a row, the Rams were right, and Clincy was usually the reason why. While she’ll have to wait another year to chase that elusive CCS title, Clincy fulfilled the goal she set out before that storied matchup with St. Francis.

“It would mean a lot for the school to put Willow Glen on the map as a public school and that we can compete with these other big-name schools,” Clincy said.

The Rams are firmly on the map now, and they aren’t going anywhere with Clincy in the circle.