GIRLS’ SOFTBALL SPORT SHORTS, 2012-13–
(Scrimmages do not count toward win/loss record. Visit the Sports Section for girls’ softball features. For a simple overview of scores and upcoming games, check the Spring sport box scores, 2013 for dates, opponents and times for all Eagle sports.)

Be sure to visit the 2012-13 girls’ softball schedule, home page, or check out Maxpreps.com. The Eagles are currently 2-9 overall and 0-3 in the West Sequoia League as of April 16. The Eagles will next play against the Minarets Mustangs, April 16.

EAGLES FALL BEHIND IN LEAGUE PLAY
The Eagles traveled to play the Caruthers Blue Raiders in their third league game of the 2012-13 season, April 16 at 4 p.m. Although the first inning remained scoreless for both teams and FC was unable to score in the second inning as well, Caruthers scored one run in their second ups. The score remained 1-0 through the fifth inning, as neither team was able to put any more points on the board.

The sixth inning held the Eagles to zero runs but produced eight runs for the Blue Raiders. As FC was unable to answer their scores in their seventh and final chances at bat, the Blue Raiders defeated the Eagles by a score of 9-0, making this FC?s third consecutive conference loss.

Coach Bart Sciacqua was pleased with the way the Eagles stayed in the game with the Blue Raiders for the first five innings, and believes that the team only fell apart defensively during the eight-run inning. He says that the remedy for this is simply communicating and keeping cool, since it is often difficult to pull out of a defensive decline.

“The beginning of the game was good, but the wheels fell off at the end,” Sciacqua said. “When the wheels fell off, everything fell off. We need to keep our composure and back everyone up, and there was a lack of communication and listening when we [coaches] were yelling at them. This game wasn’t great; it was just fair.”

Sciacqua did not notice anything that the girls did exceptionally well, but he did take note of their encouraging each other. Although he did not regard the team’s performance as outstanding, he was glad to see the concept of working together start to click in the girls’ minds. Now he is just waiting for the them to pick up their offensive game at the plate.

There weren’t any specific things we did well besides cheerleading,” Sciacqua said. “We yelled the whole time, and I finally had to move out of the dugout. Everyone gelled and they were working together and moving to positions; now we just have to get them to hit. It’s a never-ending process where you have to keep learning things everyday. It’s not an ‘I’ thing; it’s a ‘we’ thing. There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’.”

Freshman Maddie Luginbill saw that the team was having a difficult time communicating and maintaing composure, and she believes that these two missing factors are the main reasons for the team’s errors, on the field and at the plate. In addition to those elements of the game, she thinks that the girls need to gain confidence in each other and in the team as a whole.

“We probably need to talk and communicate a lot more with each other on and off the field,” Luginbill said. “That’s usually where all the mistakes come from. Also, all of the girls, including me, need to gain confidence.”

Despite the loss, however, this game was the first time Luginbill has seen the team this unified and she looks forward to future games for the chance the girls will have to continue meshing and learning to work together.

“The team played as an actual team on Tuesday,” Luginbill said. “I feel that from that game on we will be able to come on and off the field as a team instead of just girls in uniform. I was proud of the team and how we played. I know we lost but we came off with a smile because we have improved tons since the beginning of the season.”

This writer can be reached on Twitter at @JennaWeimer42.

For more softball sport shorts, read the April 16 article, Softball sport shorts: Fowler.