MIHS senior enjoys the teamwork and camaraderie of fastpitch softball

Published 8:30 am Monday, March 23, 2026

Senior second baseman Elsa Zepeda Juarez said that some of the goals for this season’s Mercer Island High School (MIHS) fastpitch softball team will be improving and learning from each game and building more of an inclusive team culture.

Although the Islanders lost a pair of games to begin the season, they elevated their skills from game one to two. It was exciting to see the girls display teamwork and camaraderie throughout those contests, Zepeda Juarez said.

It’s a squad that features a host of new members after the Islanders graduated nine seniors last season.

“I think all of the girls who pitched in both games really stepped up and did really well, and everybody was cheering them on,” said Zepeda Juarez, adding that the MIHS pitching crew this season will consist of juniors Dani Wolfe and Rylan Pemberton, sophomore Elli O’Connell and freshman Caydence Powell.

Zepeda Juarez began her softball journey in eighth grade at the invitation of Islander Middle School (IMS) club coach Angela Hatchel, who now serves as the MIHS assistant coach.

A four-year member of the MIHS program in the junior varsity and varsity realms, Zepeda Juarez said she likes the logic of knowing how to play the game along with putting one’s skills forth.

The MIHS senior belts out a laugh when she recalls wearing tall boots on the first day of IMS practice. As a MIHS freshman, she remembers getting hit in the shin by a varsity pitcher during practice.

“I had a bruise for months after, but I still came back because it was really fun,” she said. “It’s just kind of part of it. Everybody gets hit once in a while.”

Hatchel pitched in with her thoughts of Zepeda Juarez’s time on and off the diamond: “Her dedication and will to learn the sport have amazed me. I have watched her grow over the years as a player, which has inspired me to continue coaching. Elsa has been able to balance softball, academics and other extracurricular activities, always working hard to achieve her goals.”

Away from softball, Zepeda Juarez started the MIHS Fiber Arts Club as a sophomore and continues to knit and crochet to this day; and she volunteers at the Mercer Island Thrift Shop. On the academics front, she enjoys journalism and has been on the MIHS Islander newspaper staff for four years.

The Reporter asked Zepeda Juarez a series of questions to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into her life:

What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve ever received?

I would say trusting your intuition and what you think is right and listening to your own values.

What’s your favorite movie of all time?

I like a lot of movies. I actually really like “Frozen.” I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite movie of all time, but it’s a movie that I do like and I’ve watched a lot.

What’s a binge-worthy TV series that you’d recommend?

I don’t really get that much time to watch that much TV, but lately, I’ve been watching “History’s Greatest Mysteries” with my sister and it’s really interesting.

What’s your favorite restaurant there on the Island?

Mioposto.

What kind of music do you listen to?

I listen to a lot of different music. I really like rock and I like current pop music. And I like Latin music and some country. So it’s kind of all over the place.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

My biggest pet peeve is probably when somebody doesn’t care about something just because it would be inconvenient to care. Or the opposite of that when somebody overreacts to something that can be easily fixed instead of trying to find a solution.

What’s your dream vacation spot?

Probably somewhere sunny. I’ve always wanted to go to Thailand.

If you could go to dinner with one person, who would that be?

Maybe I would go to dinner with myself in eighth grade, because I think that I was really scared about what high school is going to be like, and it turned out OK. I would probably just tell myself, ‘Just do your best and it’s all going to turn out OK.’

What superpower would you like to have?

I would love to have shape shifting. I think that would be really cool because I could just turn into an object or another person or change my hair or something.