This season the softball program has been reduced to only a varsity team due to the lack of players; however, they are making the best of having one team.

In previous years, softball players were separated into junior varsity and varsity teams. The decrease in players this year forced new varsity coach Kristen Morcone to eliminate the junior varsity level.

“I really try to stretch [the players] out, but making two teams would really force both teams to suffer talent-wise,” Morcone said. “It was going to be physically impossible to have two teams.”

Along with the rest of the team, senior captain Maddie Collins was discouraged about the numbers of girls who tried out, but she noted the positive side of the situation.

“It’s kind of disappointing, but then again we got a lot of young, new talent so it will make our team closer,” Collins said.
Senior captain Gaby Kennedy focuses on the positive aspect of having one team.

“The best thing is just having a lot of people on the team, and there’s a lot of younger kids on our team,” Kennedy said.

“I think that’s pretty cool and unique that we have so many younger kids so we get all four grades on one team,” Kennedy said.

Freshman Mia McAuliffe, a starting third baseman, finds camaraderie in the sense of community and dedication.

“I kind of wish there was two teams because I feel like it’d be more fun for some girls,” McAuliffe said. “But we have one team and we work really hard and we all work together and it’s really nice, actually.”

Other players believe having two teams would allow more playing time for some players.

“I feel like a lot of people are sitting on the bench for most of the game and if there was another team, those people definitely would have gotten more playing time,” sophomore first baseman Kayleigh Travins said.

“I think [having more underclassmen] brings less judgement to the team because we’re not trying to make the freshmen scared,” sophomore second baseman Emma Hopfmann said.

Players hope the inclusion of more underclassmen will have a beneficial impact on future teams.

“I do like that the freshmen and even some sophomores are going to learn more from the seniors and be on the varsity level,” Morcone said. “They’ll already have two or three years of varsity level under their belt by the time they’re juniors or seniors.”

“It’s good for the future too, so we’ll have other girls continue on with varsity in the future,” McAuliffe said.

Despite the struggles in forming the team, the players look forward to success in future seasons.

“I’m hoping the program will still thrive in the upcoming years,” Collins said.