Reuben Chavira
The Paw Print
The Lady Grizzlies maintained their momentum this past weekend, as the softball team won 3 of 4 games on their road trip. It was almost cancelled, as a late weekend storm made driving conditions much too perilous for travel. Luckily, the weather cleared up in time for them to take their talents down to New Mexico, where they took on Fort Lewis and Western New Mexico. They made the most of their time down there, making sure their dominance would not soon be forgotten.
Not only did it snow, the Lady Grizzlies made it rain homeruns. Erika Hagum, Haley McDonald, Casey Cheney, and Erika Ecsedy all had their turn knocking the ball over the fence. Ecstatic screams and cheers rang out from the grizzly bench, playing like a soundtrack as each of the homerun hitters touched all the bases. It was an impressive 4-game outing, as the Lady Grizzlies generated 28 runs across the span, improving to 7-1 in conference play.
One of their many highlights came as they closed out their final game of the road trip. With all of the mechanics of a fastball, pitcher Morgan McWilliams instead threw a perfect changeup, freezing the batter for the strikeout and final out of the game. Kaycee Prevedel – who got the win in game one with 6 strikeouts and no earned runs – described Morgan’s final pitch as one of the best she had seen all season. “The batter didn’t even swing, she just stared at it!” This type of excitement, shared as a team when one performs well, is easily one of their greatest strengths. There is no internal conflict, only a well-oiled machine that performs in perfect unison whenever they take the field.
This team’s unity is not only shared amongst the varsity squad, but bleeds through the JV squad as well. When reporting upon their own success, they made sure to mention the victory that JV had this past Saturday against Western Nebraska, beating them twice. Playing at home, they defended their house like true champions. Alex Moore, Tessa Beren, Kelsi Kautz and Gabby Griego all had homeruns in their win, giving the Adams State Softball program even more to be proud of.
It’s things like this, the network of support between Varsity and JV, that make them the winners that they are. These subtle relationships that don’t often make the newspaper are what create excellence within a team. This cohesiveness, the selfless synergy they share, makes them more of a family than a sports program. They just happen to be a family that throw strikeouts, hit homeruns and win games together. They wake up at 6am together. They beast in the weight room together. They pay the cost – blood, sweat, and tears – together. This is the greatness of their story. This is the Excellence that the Adams State Softball program is built upon, fierce in their family bond.
What’s Been Said…