end of softball season

Softball has come to an end, and it was such a great season. The girls improved so much in basic skills -- hitting, throwing and catching, awareness of rules and play, pitching -- and had so much fun. Liesl made new friends with girls from other schools (a few of whom will be in 6th grade with her at WSMS next year) and just really thrived as a leader on the team. She's already excited for next year.

Coach Mike's narrative: "I'm still beaming about the game last night.  I hope your player told you all about it!  In case they didn't, here are some very important highlights:

The other team took their first lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The girls asked for an update at the top of the fifth and they were informed we were down by 1 run.  I confirmed that if we did not score a run in this inning the game would be over.  

The girls went and scored three runs in the top of the 5th inning, taking a two run lead.

The girls asked for an update to start the bottom of the 5th inning.  I confirmed we were up by 2 runs and that we needed to hold them to 1 run or less to win the game.

The girls went out and got the outs and held them to 1 run, winning 17-16!  

You may have noticed that our young team can make errors on routine plays and essentially give away outs!  Well this did not happen in the bottom of the 5th inning.  The players were focused, used solid technique to make plays, and got three outs quickly!  I will even say that the three players on the bench for the bottom of the 5th were also focused tracking each play and out!

I am so proud of this last game and all the hard work these players have put in over the season.  They deserved this great victory... they EARNED it!

To end the season, we had a team party at our home field with popsicles and doughnuts, coach gifts, and a girls vs. parents scrimmage. We thought we'd play an inning and then let the girls play on the playground, but they were so into it -- they wouldn't let us stop and wanted to keep playing all night. The parents realized (anew) that fielding grounders is really hard. :)  The girls got to have Delaney Qualls and Seb for some firepower, and Delaney came through by hitting a home run. Liesl was the starting pitcher for the girls' team and she threw great pitches right over the plate for us to hit. I had at least a couple of strikes, which she loved; I also hit a beautiful line drive right toward second base, which Seb grabbed out of the air. Good times.