The girls softball team defeated Olathe South Friday, March 28 with a final score of 7-5. Being one of the first games of the season, the team is excited to see what the future will bring and how their new teammates will evolve.
Senior Elly VanRheen expands on this, optimistically looking towards the future with her teammates’ ability.
“We have a really young team and I’m really excited to see how they all develop as they start getting confidence in themselves,” VanRheen said.
This game was a pivotal point for the team’s improvement. Junior Madison Lehr comments on the team’s journey throughout the season so far.
“I think we fought through some adversity [in] the first games in our season trying to get the bats rolling,” Lehr said. “I feel like we as a team worked together and worked really well together [during this game].”
VanRheen also mentions how some positions on the team had issues near the beginning due to exhaustion.
“Our pitchers have been very worn down from a doubleheader the day before,” VanRheen said. “It was really good to show us that [when our pitchers are tired] we can turn around and still throw a really good game and that our defensive [will] back [them] the entirety of that game. No matter the pitch, we are able to help each other.”
Lehr faced some hardship herself during the game. She explains what she needed to learn to overcome this adversity.
“[I had to learn] patience because the pitcher was throwing pitches that I didn’t like so I had to wait for my pitch to get the double that I got,” Lehr said. “Waiting for my pitch specifically taught me patience.”
Having high hopes, VanRheen shares her expectation for the rest of the season with this team.
“I hope we keep winning games,” VanRheen said. “We’ve had a really tough schedule so far. It’s going to really test us but I’m hoping we can at least make it out of the regional bracket. I think we really do have a shot.”
