The Wildcats got the new high school softball season off to a winning start on Friday afternoon.

And they did it despite having just one day of practice with the full team together.

The Wildcats welcomed Willows to Ferndale High School and won 13-1 in five innings.

“I was pretty happy because yesterday was our first full practice as a team,” said Ferndale head coach Jeremy Griffith, whose team has been missing several players for the first month of practice because they were still involved in the school’s long playoff run on the basketball courts.

On Friday, however, they hit the ground running.

Junior Olivia Gossi started well in the circle and at the plate.

Gossi pitched a complete-game for the win, allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks and striking out 11.

The junior standout also led the Cats at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs.

Her older sister, Madison Gossi, who was one of the players playing basketball for the last month, also impressed in the season opener.

The senior went 1-for-2 with a double and two runs, while teammate Tinnley Pidgeon was 1-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.

Sophomore Caleigh Griffith also impressed for the home team and finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs.

While the team obviously is still a work in progress at this stage of the season, there were several bright spots, most notably on defense.

“I thought defensively we made plays when the other team was able to put the ball in play,” Jeremy Griffith added. “And our base running was a strength today.”

With the loss, Willows dropped to 0-9.

Next up, the Cats will host Lower Lake on Saturday at 11 a.m.