The girls softball team fell to Olathe West with a final score of 2-0 Tuesday, April 9. They entered the game knowing the competition would be tough against last year’s state champions.
According to sophomore Macy Brunner, having this knowledge set the team on edge.
“We knew going into the game it would be tough competition,” Brunner said. “I think this made us a bit unsure at the beginning and caused our energy to be lower than normal. In softball energy plays a big part in your performance and your ability to work as a team. But even considering that, we still only allowed two runs so I believe if we all would’ve contributed a little more we would’ve won that game.”
Senior Elly VanRheen explains how the team’s nerves were normal for a younger team.
“We went into the game already on edge knowing it was a good team,” VanRheen said. “I wish we could’ve come to the field confident in our abilities. I’m not worried about this for the rest of the season, we have a young team and it’s normal for them to be nervous.”
Brunner feels she played well considering their tough opponents.
“I think I had a pretty solid game,” Brunner said. “Defensively I was at third and got a decent amount of stuff hit my way. Offensively I was hitting 5th and went 1/3 with a line drive to center. I definitely could’ve done better but considering the pitcher we were facing is a D1 commit, I’d take any sort of hit as long as it helps my team.”
Overall, VanRheen believes the team could prepare for the rest of the season by improving their confidence.
“We just need to continue to grow confident in our own skills and work to keep energy high the whole game,” VanRheen said. “Losing energy is when we’re going to lose games.”
