Softballers play hard but crash harder


May 23, 2002, midnight | 21 years, 10 months ago


Softball's season was cut short in its first playoff game against the Quince Orchard (QO) Cougars. With the 4-3 upset loss, the team missed its chance at a post-season run but finished fifth in the county with an 11-5 record and promise for the future.

The Blazers, who defeated QO 11-2 during the regular season, made a few mistakes early in the game, which gave QO early access to runs. "The team that makes less mistakes usually wins," said junior Jennifer Sindall. "We made a lot more mistakes than Quince Orchard did."

Despite Blair's errors, the team's defense held out against QO early in the game. In the second inning, when the Cougars had the bases loaded with no outs, the Blazer defense held the Cougars to only one run.

Pitcher Emma Simson, out with an arm injury, made her return as the team's dominant pitcher. According to teammate Sophie Strike, Simson pitched well against QO even though she had not fully recovered. "Emma pitched well for our team," Strike said. "But you could tell by the third inning that she was really hurt."

Blair scored its first two runs in the fourth inning on a double by Sindall. Senior co-captain Stephanie Cooney believes that the team could have been more effective at bat had it found the gaps in the QO field. "Our weak point was probably hitting against the Quince Orchard pitcher," Cooney explains. "She wasn't all that great, but we were hitting right to the Quince Orchard defense."

Consistency at the plate has been a strong point for the team, according to Coach Louis Hoelman. "We had a very good hitting team," he says. "Everyone in our starting lineup has hit the ball well." Sindall points out that hitting was the strongest asset of the team. "On the field, we were probably the [most] hitting dominant team in Montgomery County," said Sindall.

Softball has come a long way since its 7-9 record last year. Even with the team's strong lineup, Hoelman did not predict such great successes this year. "I was optimistic about our team during the preseason, but I did not think we would end up 11-5," he said. "We've beaten teams that we've never beaten before."

Hoelman thinks the team learned that playing hard is an important factor in winning games. "We learned that if we can play well, we can beat anyone," says Hoelman. "If we don't play well, we can lose to anyone."

Despite the impending loss of seniors Juliana Stevenson, Stephanie Cooney and Gray Vargas-Regan, Hoelman believes the team will do even better next year. "We'll have six returning starters," says Hoelman. "I'm hoping for the team to improve in their game and go further into the playoffs."




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