The spring sports season is well underway, and the softball team is putting together a strong season so far, being third in the PIL and leading the league in runs scored.
A big part of the team’s success this season has been the extra work the players put in over the offseason. Senior Hailey Thompson spoke about what the team did over the summer to get better.
“I’ve just been getting a lot of extra reps in, especially over the summer, mainly working on my hitting,” Thompson said.
Sophomore Amira Edwards also had some comments on the work she put in over the offseason.
“I feel like the team as a whole is working a lot harder. We’ve had some really solid offseason practices, and we also got a new pitching coach, which helps,” Edwards said.
One more thing the team did over the offseason to improve was doing team bonding activities like journaling and offseason practices to help build chemistry for the season.
Head Coach Jenny Briley talked about the bonding the team did over the offseason.
“We did a lot of team bonding over the offseason and were trying to build that team chemistry, the fun, the laughter, they play better when they’re out there having fun,” Briley said.
In the team’s most recent games, they have dominated their PIL opponents, winning by double digits against Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Franklin. The team’s stellar offense has really helped them get the upper hand this season.
Another big aspect of the team’s record this year is that the competition in the preseason was much tougher than that of a lot of the other teams in the PIL, playing three different top-15 teams in Oregon.
“I think we’re gonna do super great in the PIL. We faced a lot of good competition in the preseason, and that definitely prepared us for PIL play,” Thompson said.
Coming into the second half of the season, the team is looking to win some of the matchups they lost in the first half of the season, with those two being a 1-2 loss against Grant and a 5-7 loss against Cleveland.
“We definitely want to get back at Grant. We had a pretty close game against them, and then we definitely want to beat Cleveland because we don’t want them to go undefeated this season,” Thompson said.
So far, the team has had a lot of top performers, including shortstop Kaylee Schmitz, who’s one of the main leaders on the team and carries a lot of power with her bat, according to Briley.
And then there’s also pitcher Edwards, who has a great presence on the mound, and she’s a great hitter as well. Then there’s freshman Brylee Scott, who’s just hands down athletic, according to Briley.
As for the team’s goals this season, their main focus is to keep playing as one and keep looking forward.
“Our main goal is to keep playing together, I mean, winning the league is always fun and getting into the playoffs is great, but I want these girls to have a season to remember. We’re just gonna go one day at a time, and whatever outcome we get is what we get,” Briley said.
The team’s next game is today, May 19th, at McDaniel. Make sure to come out and support.
