The girls’ softball team started off their season victorious and optimistic. However, news from head coach Greg Page was anything but good. Sara Weins, ’04, the team’s starting pitcher, quit, and their other pitcher, Lindsey Brush, ’06, was not eligible to play after she transferred from Hoover High School. With no pitcher, the girls found themselves struggling.

“Having no pitchers is the biggest factor in our loss record,” Page said. “Softball is all about pitching, and having no pitcher really changed the attitude of the girls.”

As a last resort, the team chose three girls to replace their former pitchers: Hillary Kell, ’05, 3rd base, Ashley Sherr, ’06, center field and Christina Cabias, ’07, shortstop.

“I taught myself to pitch,” Cabias said. “It has been a struggle not having a real pitcher, but Hillary and Ashley go out there and give their best, and that’s all we can ask from them.”

The job of the pitcher is to give the opposing team something they can hit, so that the defense can make plays and get outs.

“Our team gets behind in games partly because of the errors that our team makes on the field,” Kell said. “We could have a stronger defense if we did not make so many stupid errors.”

With the team struggling defensively, even the smallest mistake can make a huge difference in a game situation.

“We would be a good team if we had a pitcher,” Kell said. “But since we don’t, it hasn’t been very much fun losing. That’s what I hated the most about this season.”

With several games left, the girls hope to pull it together and find another victory instead of having to call the game on the ten-run mercy rule.

“If there was no such thing as a ten-run mercy rule, games would be unbearable,” Kristen Amerine, ’07, 2nd base, said. “We would get chewed up and spit out even more than we already do.”

Even though the girls have been put in a situation that has no easy way out, they have made the most of their season and have developed a team that will prosper next season when vacant positions are filled.

“Next year we will actually be able to be in the game, since we will have a pitcher,” Cabias said. “This team has talent; we just haven’t gotten the chance to show it yet.”

Although Brush failed to become eligible for the team after she transferred, she is looking forward to joining the team next year.

“This year was a learning experience for all of the girls who had never played before,” Brush said. “Next year they will know what to do and will come out here to get down to business and win games.”

The team agrees that next year will be a stronger, more aggressive year with victories to look forward too.

“Lindsey [Brush] will be pitching next year and that will make a big difference,” Page said. “Our team will be impressive next year, with all the improvement the girl’s have shown this year. It is going to be exciting to watch our team play.”

After some disappointing losses, the team is working hard not only to become better and more aggressive in their defense, but also to regain the motivation they lost in their previous losses.

“We could finish strong if we tried,” Kell said. “Our last game was against Firebaugh, and they weren’t too hard to beat, even without a pitcher.”

The girls suffered a disappointing loss against Tranquillity. Their last two games will be May 10 at Mendota and May 12 at Tranquillity.