In the second game of the playoff series against Brenham, the softball team came back from a 7-1 deficit, tying the game 9-9 in the seventh inning. The team lost the first game of the first round of the playoffs, 7-6, and would need to win to continue playing.
Junior Ava Klinefelter walked up to the plate, hitting a walk-off, which ended the game 10-9. This forced a third game on Saturday morning, where the team fell short 9-8.
The series took place April 24-26 at Cypress Falls High School, and ended with Brenham advancing. For most of the players, the second game was the most memorable.
“[The second game] was really exciting,” senior Abbey Papadimitriou said. “I mean, there’s nothing like proving the other team wrong, which wasn’t our goal. We were just going to go out and do our best. I think the whole season that’s how we played. Just playing for each other, not whatever was around us. But I think it really sent a message.”
During the first game of the series, however, the team faced rain and lightning that caused a delay. Although the game could have been rescheduled to a double header, both teams agreed to wait. With the rain delay, the team attempted to remain energized before going out to the field again.
The team ended their season with an overall record of 18-9. They ended district play with a record of 10-2 and finished second.
Throughout the season, the energy between the crowd and the dugout especially motivated the team. The team learned and created different chants for when their teammates were up at bat.
“Whenever we have energy we all scream at each other and we get hyped,” Klinefelter said. “We just know that if we keep screaming, we keep getting in their heads, that we’re going to eventually keep scoring and keep hitting.”
The energy and chemistry they created helped secure wins, even with a young team. This was what kept the team motivated.
Earlier this season, some players on the team got injured leaving the already small team to make necessary changes in positions. Junior catcher Kendall Olson broke her hand in a preseason game, which forced senior utility player Addison Gomez to take over the catching position.
Along with Olson, seniors Katherine Geiser and Lizzy Quinn sat out for the whole season because of injuries.
“I think with Kendall getting hurt, defensively, we had a couple of setbacks,” Klinefelter said. “With players not being able to play like Katherine and Lizzy, we had some spots open for people to compete for. I think if we had all those pieces together we would have gone far.”
With three key players out for the majority of the season, the team needed to make adjustments. This caused many underclassmen on the team to be used as utility players and learn to play multiple positions.
On the field, senior captains Papadimitriou and Gomez were the key leaders the team needed this season. Papadimitriou, who will play at Sam Houston next year, said she was excited to end her high school career in the playoffs for the fourth year in a row.
“I was so excited for the next thing,” Papadimitriou said, talking about this season. “I probably should have just lived a little. That might not sound right on paper, but I was just so ready for the next game. I wish that I would just really have slowed down a little bit.”
Sophomore Allie Minick, who was a captain alongside Papadimitriou and Gomez, led the team throughout the season on the pitcher’s mound. Minick came in relief during each of the playoff games, and was a key contributor throughout the season.
This year, the team’s chemistry and togetherness played a huge role in their success this season. While the seniors are proud of what they accomplished this year, the underclassmen are looking forward to next season, because of the key pieces they have returning.
“I think our strengths were our togetherness,” coach Lindsay Gregory said. “The culture that we created, just picking each other up. I think that just consistency at the plate was a big strength of ours and timely hitting. I would say we played good defense for the majority of the year. Those are all pieces that we have coming back.”
