This spring season, the girl’s softball team won their fourth OCC title in a row, the 12th in the team’s history.
The win was an accomplishment for the team, as it marked the first time softball had ever won four years in a row. For many of the seniors on the team, the win was particularly impactful.
“It means a lot that me and my friends can be a part of all four years,” shortstop Lizzie Gould said.
Gould has been playing softball for 12 years and fell in love with the sport because of its competitiveness and environment. She has made some of her best friends through the sport and finds it helps her with many aspects of her life, such as staying motivated.
For Gould and other girls on the team, softball is more than just a sport.
“I feel like it definitely has given me a big piece of my identity,” first base player Kasey Beswick said. “Because softball is such a time-consuming sport, and you do it so much and so often, it [becomes] part of who you are.”
The team certainly puts in extra time to achieve their success. Softball is a spring sport, but the team’s preseason training begins in September with five a.m. lifts. And, while these sessions are technically optional, everybody shows up.
“I think a lot of girls on the team are very motivated, and, whether they want to play college ball or not, I think everyone has the same goal,” pitcher Hannah McAllister said.
Their fundamental goal is to win their games. However, the head coach, Mark Thomas, thinks the girls’ motivation runs a bit deeper.
“We’ve been pretty successful, of course, but I think what it is is that every year girls come in and play, [and] they don’t want to let the girls in the past down,” Thomas said. “So they always want to…be better than the year before…they want to keep on having a great tradition.”
On top of upholding the reputation of the team, the players want to be there for each other.
Beswick said she especially cares about being there for underclassmen on the team. She started on varsity as a freshman and felt pressure to not mess up. Now that she is a senior, she wants to make sure everyone feels comfortable.
“A lot of us have gone out of our way to make sure [underclassmen] know it’s okay to mess up because you’re learning, and you’re not going to get in trouble for making a mistake; it’s what you do to fix it,” Beswick said. “I think that our senior class has made it really easy for people to learn and to grow as a player faster because they’re not scared to.”
Many players say that the chemistry they have created serves as the team’s biggest strength. During games, they use their friendship to their advantage. They are there for each other and cheer each other on throughout the game.
“It’s just like a bunch of us just singing together, basically, and it’s really fun, so we’re encouraging our teammates, and we’re yelling,” McAllister said. “Cheering really keeps us in the game and gets it more excited.”
Gould agrees with McAllister.
“You’re always hearing us in the dugout,” Gould said. “We produce a good energy because we’re all friends; we’re always laughing and picking each other up.”
This season, nine of the players will be graduating. Out of those nine, six of the players start on varsity. With such a large change, the team will have to adapt in order to keep their winning streak.
Much of the team’s focus has gone into training for their games, but they have also begun to lightly prepare for next season. The seniors on varsity have been a large part of the preparation.
“As seniors, we have really tried to mentor the underclassmen in our positions, and so I think that it’s going to be different, but I think that we have tried to prepare them as best we can, and I think that they’re going to do great,” McAllister said.
Whether or not next year’s team wins OCCs, the program will continue to have a strong work ethic. They are determined to not let the substantial change in the team get in the way of winning.
“We’ve been putting numbers up pretty consistently on the banner, the most, and I think that everybody needs to know that Delaware Hayes Lady Pacers softball is here to stay,” Thomas said.
