The softball season has finally come to an end. The team had seven losses, two wins, and a single draw.
This season became IMS’s best in a while. The most intense game was when they went up against Woodbridge Middle School. The Panthers had one down in extra innings, down to their last strike. They had two strikes and two outs when eighth grader Natalia Taistra hit a long ball. Pitcher Rilee Sparks made three outs to set up the home eighth. Then eighth grader Angelina Quinones led with a triple. A perfect squeeze bunt was executed, and the Panthers won.
Maureen Gallagher, the Panthers coach, said, “I was very proud of the growth the team showed especially defensively. The game is so much on the ability to throw and catch and those skills kept improving as the season went on.”
But it wasn’t all positive. Gallagher talked about how practices weren’t always great. She also talked about the team itself and how it felt like the team wasn’t doing their best..
She said, “I do wish there was a bit more commitment to the process. Attendance at practice was not always what I thought it should be. I also really want the girls on the team to ALWAYS give their 100% effort and at times during games when things were not going our way I felt effort fell off. Individual effort is something each girl can control.”
She still had hope in the team that they would get better. There are lots of ways to practice getting better at softball, like learning all the rules and some strategies.
Gallagher said, “The girls should continue to play catch with someone, watch softball on television to become very familiar with the rules and just continue to try to improve as much as they can.”
There were definitely positives to take away from the season.
She said, “The goal of the team is always to improve and grow in knowledge of the game and athletic ability. Each game there was a new player that achieved a new level with either defensive, offense, the mental aspect or in being a great teammate.”
