Hastings High Softball team went to state on October 15th and played five games beginning against Elkhorn, and continuing with Wahoo, Omaha Skutt, Northwest, and Omaha Skutt once again in the championship.
The team had a successful run at state this year. They won against Elkhorn 11-2, Wahoo 6-2, Northwest 17-5, lost to Skutt 14-4, and lost to Skutt again 14-2.
The team spent the hours of their time practicing and getting ready for the whole season in general.
“We really dialed in and focused on our weak spots to make them solid so we could be better prepared and we visualized our success and what would happen in each game defensive plays and offense wise,” junior Samantha Schmidt said.
Since the year is still ongoing with difficult problems like playing during COVID-19 and trying to improve from previous years, there were plenty of challenges with practices for several of Hastings High’s sports teams.
“One of the biggest challenges was not letting one error snowball into another and another, another challenge was the seniors realizing that this was it. Sometimes they stressed themselves out more than they should have. Some got upset if their hitting was off one game or another, while others got upset when we made errors.” freshman Makenzie Nollette said.
The team members of the Softball team have developed a connection with each other from all of the time that they have spent together and practiced together. Many of them have played together for most of their lives in High school.
“I think my teammates and coaches prepared us the most to get to state. The seniors were always there to push us during practice to get better,” sophomore Emma Landgren said.
The softball team has had numerous wins along with a few losses on their side throughout the years, for example, their wins at state were 11-2, 6-2, 17-5, and the losses were 14-4 and 14-2. Memories have been made throughout the years for the girls.
“The most memorable experience I had was the friendships I made. Every single girl becomes your best friend and then making it to the state finals with the girls you get to call your best friends has to be by far my favorite memory,” senior Kaitlyn Laux said.
The softball team considers themselves a family, a group above friendship.
“The thing is our ‘person’ was our whole team, we wouldn’t have made it without everyone on the team from the big-time plays,” Schmidt said.
