A Mound of work

Softball to challenge first place Jaguars tonight

 

After shutting out Coppell 8-0 this past Tuesday, the softball team [4-1 in district] will challenge first place Flower Mound [5-0] tonight at home at 7 p.m.

Head coach Lori Alexander said the team has made improvements throughout the season with each game that passes, so they only need to make a few adjustments between games to progress.

After the previous walk-off loss to Flower Mound earlier in the season, the Farmers have been planning for tonight’s game, practicing and focusing to the best of their ability.

“They are a strong hitting team,” Alexander said. “They beat us in the first round in the bottom of the eighth inning and we never should have been in the eighth. We will have to play at our best to beat them [tonight].”

Players said the rivalry with Flower Mound brings out the best in them.

“We’re trying not to get too worked up,” senior Miranda Worthington said. “Yes, this year, Flower Mound is our biggest threat, but they’re just another team with the same goal as us. We know what we can do, and we know if we come together we’re more than capable of winning.”

Since the rocky pre-district season, Worthington said that the team has progressed by coming together as a team.

“We talked on the field, our defense was solid, and our bats came alive,” Worthington said. “I have absolutely no doubt that we’ll make it to playoffs, and, if we work hard and fix the little things, we could even make it to state again.”

With only five games remaining in the regular season, senior Megan Haggard said that the girls need to enhance certain aspects before going to bat against other districts.

“Our weakness is our offense because we can either be lights out and hitting bombs with good base hits or we can all just be struggling to get on base,” Haggard said.

While the team earned the state championship last year, Haggard said that they need to take the time between each game to mentally prepare.

“I can’t tell you how many people have asked us individually, ‘So, we’re going to state again this year?’” Haggard said. “Well, when you take it one game at a time, you can’t get to playoffs if you can’t make it to district, and you can’t make it to state without making it to playoffs.”

Since the girls spend so much time together, the team is close. To keep a level head throughout each game, the players need to be on good terms with one another. Worthington said that, while difficult to accomplish, the team has improved in avoiding conflicts that could affect their game.

“As a team, we’re constantly together,” Worthington said. “We’re a family; a group of sisters. And, with that being said, sisters fight. When we let the drama creep in, it eats at us. It turns an entire game in the opposite direction. We’re quiet on the field, our bats are dead and our heads aren’t where they need to be.”

With five seniors this year, the softball team has had several of their players step up and become leaders on and off the field to tie up loose ends and keep the team focused.

“I think myself and the other four seniors do a phenomenal job on keeping our team humble and focused throughout the game,” Haggard said. “But we like to have fun and let loose. We’re not strict on what they can do, but we know how to get things done.”

In contrast with keeping the team in line during games and ensuring smooth collaboration, junior Gaby Vasquez said that, before games, the Farmers don’t worry.

“We’re usually pretty chill,” Vasquez said. “We just hang out in the locker room, blare out music. And then it’s game mood.”