As the Elmira High School Softball Team reaches their long stretch nearing the middle of the season, they have upped their competitive game!
With a primarily young team overall, the Falcons currently hold a 3-7 win-loss record, explained by their lack of experience as well as the especially difficult weather that has begun to hit their current games. Many have even begun to get rescheduled, adding even more pressure for the team to excel in their capabilities.
Despite the young team and inconvenient weather, the team is still going strong. They have encountered some tough losses, such as North Marion High School, being their biggest by far. That has yet to stop them though!
The Falcon’s goal in the preseason was to simply improve every game, which they have succeeded in. Head Coach Paul Witt said “Our expectations are for improvement in all aspects of the game and try to have a little fun along the way.”
Witt is very impressed with his athletes, especially his standout leading senior athletes, Mackenzie Wisner and Riley Peeler. Additionally, his junior athletes Veronica Hanson, a solid third basemen, and Piper Woolgamott have also impressed him.
He also mentioned one of his several 9th grade starting players, Layla Burgess. She has showed extreme versatility by playing three different positions for the softball team this season.
Lastly, he mentioned junior Tayler Carney, who has been in the softball program for three years. Never playing softball before entering the program, Carney has been working her way to a starting role as a designated player in the current season. She is now the second best hitter on the team.
Witt says he is very impressed with his athletes and their abilities, a difference to a lot of basketball and softball teams that he has coached before. This team in particular really enjoys being around one another which is better than other teams that he has been associated with.
For the nearing end of the softball season, Witt hopes that all the players, including him, get to meet their end of season personal goals. Witt says his goal is “to train a nucleus of players for our Elmira softball future.”
Whether they win or lose along the way, they are still a great team. This season they even hope to make the playoffs!
The rest of the softball schedule is still unclear for the future. Right now many postponed games will mean that the softball team will have to play a lot of make-up games in a short amount of time.
This unfortunately puts a lot of stress on the team and the individual players. Mentally, the athletes need to keep up with classes and physically they need to rest for high performance on each game day. It is especially hard to excel when there are games to play every other day.
The softball team hopes to use this season to build toward their future.
The softball team’s next home game is this Tuesday, so get out and support our Falcons!
