Daily Journal Athletes of the Week: Cap’s Avery and Dana Motroni

Cap had two days to dwell on the grueling loss, then had to prepare for the No. 1-ranked team in CCS, Monterey, for a Friday night showdown in San Bruno. The Mustangs were expecting to face another ace in senior right-hander Ella Myers, but the UC Santa Barbara commit, who has made just one appearance this year, was out of action.

“We had to prepare for another Division I pitcher, basically, and ... I think we prepared ourselves well enough,” Cap senior Avery Motroni said. “Almost too well, to when Ella wasn’t there, we were even more prepared for what they brought to us.”

Avery Motroni — herself a Division I commit to Arizona State — and younger sister Dana Motroni capitalized, helping to get the Mustangs’ bats back on track in a hurry. The Motroni sisters combined for five hits and seven RBIs in a 9-2 win over the Toreadors. “Big Mo” went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs, while “Little Mo” was 2 for 3 with a triple and four RBIs, earning them honors as Daily Journal Athletes of the Week.

This marks the second time on the 2024-25 sports calendar Avery Motroni has earned an AOTW nod. The first time was Oct. 1, 2024, after establishing herself as one of the top flag football quarterbacks in the PAL. The senior wouldn’t finish the season, however, after a dislocated kneecap cost her the second half of the season.

“It was really hard because Avery was probably the best quarterback in the league, and we lost that,” said Dana Motroni, who also played flag football in the fall. “It was hard, but we still pushed through.”

The injury forced Avery Motroni to undergo knee surgery Nov. 20 to repair a patellar tendon. The three-month recovery meant she didn’t return to softball activities until February, and still has yet to return to her natural catching position this season. Through Cap’s first five games, she has played first, second and third base, while also serving as a designated player.

“I’m currently still working on being able to stay in the squat ... but I’m hoping to be back fully in my squat within a couple weeks to a month,” Avery Motroni said.

The only infield position the elder Motroni hasn’t played is shortstop, because that’s Dana Motroni’s domain. The younger Motroni played mostly third base as a freshman last season, but has played every pitch of every game at shortstop this year.

Despite the nicknames coined by the Daily Journal in reference to their respective ages, “Little Mo” has a significant height advantage on “Big Mo.” The younger Dana Motroni stands at 5-9, which has kept her from ever playing catcher like the older Avery Motroni, who stands 5-4.

“I’ve always just seen myself, since I’m longer, as a middle infielder or third baseman,” Dana Motroni said.

The height isn’t the only difference between the two sisters, Cap head coach Tanya Borghello said.

“They’re night and day,” Borghello said. “Avery is the older sister, she’s very controlled in behavior and discipline. She’s very much more the ‘older sibling,’ where Dana is just this wild and crazy free spirit who doesn’t have a care in the world, until she does. She’s a lot of fun.”

The two tend to get similar results, though. Their performances in the win over Monterey showcased how both are quick studies, and how they apply their respective softball IQs at the plate.

Avery Motroni wasn’t exactly struggling at the plate prior to Friday. Despite Cap getting no-hit in the previous game, the senior entered the Monterey game batting .357 (5 for 14). Still, she was searching for her power stroke. After homering 10 times last season, she hadn’t gone deep through her first four games of the year.

After the first two Mustangs reached base in the bottom of the first, “Big Mo” changed that, offering at the first pitch she saw and pulverizing it for a no-doubt three-run blast to center field. It was the first time Avery Motroni felt like herself again at the plate, she said.

“I think that swing will definitely carry through the rest of my season and the rest of my career,” Avery Motroni said. “It was really reassuring.”

Dana Motroni had a similar learning curve in the fourth inning after Monterey went to its bullpen. Once again, the first two batters of the inning reached base, a rally sparked by Avery Motroni’s leadoff single. “Little Mo” then delivered a two-RBI triple, and legging it out for a “little league home run” when an errant throw allowed her to jog home.

“It was her ninth pitch ... and I just saw it out of her hand,” Dana Motroni said. “It was a perfect swing and I just swung, and it went really far.”

It was a pivotal win not just for the Mustangs, but for their archrival Mills. While Monterey went into the game ranked No. 1 in CCS by MaxPreps.com, Monday’s new rankings saw Mills leapfrog to No. 4 with Monterey falling to No. 6. It was the first loss of the season for the Toreadors, who saw senior pitchers Taylor Page and Kylie Goud combine to open the season with a 5-0 record in place of Myers.

Cap’s wild week — getting no-hit by TKA, in a game Mustangs starter Lola Sierra yielded just three hits and one unearned run on a second-inning throwing error, then recuperating to produce 15 hits against Monterey — has been par for the course while facing a stacked nonleague schedule.

Said Borghello of the Mustangs’ 2-3 record to start the season: “I think that’s just kind of our thing these days.”