It was all a product of design.

Holtville softball coach Reese Claybrook knew that if his team wanted to make waves in the postseason, it needed to use the regular season to do so. After carefully constructing the schedule to face off against some of the best teams in the state, Holtville finished the year with a 23-16-1 record.

The Bulldogs returned the regular season Class 5A Area 5 title back to Slapout while also taking the top spot in the area tournament. All collimating in them narrowly missing out on a bid to the state tournament in a loss to Beauregard by one run. For his efforts this season, Claybrook is the 2025 Elmore County Softball Coach of the Year.

“Our schedule this year, man was a gauntlet,” Claybrook said. “We knew it's kind of what we needed to be able to make the run

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