Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Women's Softball

Skania Valencia enters her second season as the head coach of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team during the 2025-26 academic year. During her first season, Valencia guided the Athenas to a 22-16 record and a runner-up finish in the SCIAC Tournament. The CMS postseason run included a five-run seventh for a 7-6 comeback win over host and top-seed Redlands, which later went on to the NCAA Division III World Series.  Valencia joined the Athenas after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at Division I Siena College, and has experience coaching at all three NCAA divisions during her six-year coaching career. Valencia had a key role in helping Siena to the first MAAC Championship in program history, leading the Saints to the NCAA Regional at the University of Texas. Her efforts also helped the Saints to a 33-win season in 2024, the most in program history, after tying the record with 32 in her first season. While with Siena, Valencia was tasked with defensive and offensive player development, training and game strategy, while also organizing team logistics for travel, games and equipment. She had an additional role as intramural sports coordinator at Siena as well. Valencia has previous head coaching experience at the Division III level, after serving as the head coach at Westfield State in Massachusetts for one year during the 2022 season. She doubled the Owls’ win total from nine to 18, starting an upward trajectory that has turned the program into a league contender. Prior to accepting the head coaching position at Westfield State, Valencia served as an assistant coach at Division II Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York, her alma mater, from 2018-21 while pursuing her master’s degree. She served as the lead coach for hitting and outfield defense, while serving as the lead recruiter for the West Coast. As a player, Valencia was named to the ECC Commissioner’s Honor Roll in both of her seasons at Mercy College, and set the school record for most RBI in a season. She graduated from Mercy with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2018, and a master’s degree in finance in 2021.  

Hipple came to CMS from Hunter College, City University of New York.  In five seasons there, she led the team to three CUNYAC titles ('02, '03, '05), three CUNYAC tournament titles ('01, '02, '03) and into the NCAA Championships three times ('01, '02, '03). She was named CUNYAC Coach of the Year three times ('01, '02, '03).  She coached multiple all conference players, pitchers of the year, and players of the year.  These accomplishments are of particular note given that Hunter College did not have a home field for either practice or competition.  All training was done in a gym and a local City of New York field was used to host teams from out of town.  Coach Hipple is an avid student of the game. She attends camps, clinics, and workshops whenever possible and has earned the highest rank of 4-star Master Coach, completing the entire NFCC Master Coach Program.  The NFCC (National Fastpitch Coaches College) master coach program offers an eight course, ½-star per course progression for softball coaches examining all facets of the game under the guidance of the most successful coaches in the sport.   Coach Hipple and the Athenas share their knowledge and love of the game with local youth teams during clinics they offer throughout the year to serve the community.  Remembering how they felt watching "the big girls" play, the Athenas bring a huge enthusiasm to these clinics teaching and bonding with their young trainees.  Prior to entering collegiate coaching, Hipple led Outward Bound courses with adjudicated and at-risk youth for almost ten years.  An outgrowth of this work led her to corporate leadership consulting for several years before attending graduate school at the University of Utah.  Master's degree in hand, Hipple left to fulfill another lifelong dream and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer for two and a half years in Malawi, Africa.  A native of Gainesville, Florida,  basketball team in a local church league.  Coaching highlights since then have been many.  Among the most memorable was organizing an all-day practice session for the 2004 U.S. Olympic softball team during the Aiming to Athens' tour. Along these lines, Coach Hipple was honored to host a practice for the University of Michigan team in 2015 on the Athenas' field. It was a privilege and a great joy to watch coaching legend Carol Hutchings and her squad up close. In addition to coaching the softball team, Hipple is an Associate Professor of Physical Education at CMS and teaches two Physical Education courses each fall.  She also serves on various committees as requested, currently participating on the Personal & Social Responsibility: Sexual Assault & Title IX subcommittee. Coach Hipple lives in Claremont.  She moved her mother from Knoxville, TN to Claremont in 2007 and took care of her during a tragic decline due to dementia.  Marjorie Hipple died in April, 2014.  Coach Hipples niece, Samantha Steitz, is a 2011 Scripps College graduate majoring in Piano Performance. Since graduation, Samantha started her own Piano Studio (Suzuki Method) in Pasadena.  One of her nephews, Jeffrey Steitz, is a 2013 Claremont McKenna College graduate, dual majoring in Econ-Accounting at CMC and Piano Performance at Scripps.  Since graduation, Jeffrey started the global t-shirt company, Serengetee.  Her youngest nephew, Maxwell Steitz, is a graduate from the Lab School in New York City and will begin college at Tulane University in the fall of 2016 after taking a gap year to travel around the world.

Bert Alderete enters his first year as an assistant coach with the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball program in 2025-26. Alderete joins the Athenas with almost 20 years of coaching experience in Southern California at the youth level, most recently as an assistant coach at South Hills High School in West Covina, where he coached from 2018-2024.  Prior to South Hills, Alderete coached at the club level as an assistant coach with SoCal Atheltic 16U from 2016-18 and OC Batbusters from 2013-16. He was also the head coach of the SoCal Lynx from 2011-16, and with Charter Oak Youth Softball from 2007-11. Alderete holds a degree from Southern California Institute of Technology in electronic/computer engineering. 

Ralph Navarro enters his second season as an assistant coach with the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team in 2025.  Navarro has spent the last four years as the head coach at South Hills High School in West Covina, which he led to an 87-23-1 record, including 36-4 in the Hacienda League, winning two league titles with undefeated records. Navarro began his coaching career in baseball, working as an assistant coach at San Gabriel High School in 1996. He went on to serve as the head baseball coach at Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary High School in Montebello from 1997-2000 and as an assistant at Bishop Amat High School from 2000-05. He also served as a baseball camp instructor at the University of Southern California from 1996-2005.  Navarro held a position as the board commissioner of the Charter Oak Softball League from 2013-19, before taking his first softball coaching position at South Hills.

Clair was named NESCAC Player of the Year and Co-Most Outstanding Player of the 2014 Softball Championships.  A three-time All-American catcher, Clair finished her career with 67 home runs ranking third all-time among Division III players. Clair was also named the 2014 Diamond Catcher of the Year, handling a pitching staff that ranked second in the country in earned run average.  Clair earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a pre-med academic track while also being heavily involved in Tufts athletics leadership. As the Vice President of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the event overseer of Fan the Fire, Clair helped promote school spirit and community service at athletic events throughout the academic year.  For her contributions on the field, in the classroom, and in the community, Jo was the NESCACs 2014 nomination for NCAA Women of the Year award. This past year, Clair worked part-time as a research assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital while also serving as the Tufts Club Sports Coordinator, where she managed the daily operations of 20 club sports. Jo is the owner and founder of Protect the Plate, a business dedicated to softball catching instruction and development for all ages. Clair will continue running camps and clinics on the East Coast and hopes to start a similar program in the Claremont area.  A native of Glastonbury, Conn., Jo graduated from Glastonbury High School in 2010.