Imagine you are in the state championship and your team is down two runs. There are two outs and two runners left on base, one is on third and the other is on second. You are up to bat and your count is three balls and two strikes. The weight of your team is resting on your shoulders. Are you going to swing or try to get walked to get out of the situation? As you are at the plate, you are watching the ball and it looks like a strike, so you swing. Luckily you hit the ball, in fact you hit the ball so hard you got a home run. You and your team have won the game. 

     Softball is a sport that anybody can play.  There are two different ways you can play softball. There are fastpitch softball leagues and slow pitch softball leagues. Anybody can play in the slow pitch league, such as children, men, and older people. Fastpitch softball is usually played only by girls in high school, travel softball, or in college. According to Team Insight’s Mike May, as of 2023, there were 340,923 participants in high school softball and the numbers continue to increase. 

     So, it is that time of year where softball is starting up again. Colleges have already started their seasons and the high school season is starting next week. The Lady Kings have been preparing for their spring season since January. The IHSAA allows every team to have twenty- six limited contact practices starting in December. The Lady Kings have had some pretty rough past seasons but they are feeling confident about this one. In the past two seasons, the Lady Kings have had an overall record of 14 and 35. Even though the record in 2023 was on 7 and 21, the Lady Kings ended up pulling out a sectional win, then later lost the regional game by one run. Last season, the team had to face some diversity by not having a junior varsity team, and losing a senior who made a major toll on the game. Luckily, the Lady Kings only lost one player, so it will be easier to adapt to the new season. 

     This year, the Lady Kings have two returning seniors that have played all four years of high school. This will only be the seniors’ third year under the coaching of Matt Hubner and Rusty Logan. Here’s how the coaches think the season will go. Senior, Kaitlyn Benner, stated that she is feeling good and confident about this upcoming season. She then proceeded to state she thinks we have the chance to have a winning season if we play like a team. Kaitlyn said her favorite memory from her high school career was winning the sectional game in 2023 when she was a sophomore. The second senior is Hannah Zamora. Hannah said that she is feeling good about the upcoming season, and she believes the girls can play as a team this year because they have been playing together for three years. She also said that she believes the team could be better if we have better communication as well. Hannah’s favorite memory from the past years was hanging out with the team, and getting food after the games. She also stated that she loved the bus rides too. 

     I interviewed co-head coach Rusty Logan to get his view on the season. Logan stated since it is his third year coaching and his third year with core players he is feeling good about the season. Logan said he believes we could have a winning season because pitching is key in softball and our number two pitcher has improved since last season. Logan finally stated he is not as confident in the sectional this year because it is hosted by Oak Hill, which is a turf field and playing defense on turf is entirely different than on natural surfaces. Though he does think we will be able to compete with our opponents. 

     Overall I think this season will be one for the books. I have confidence our team can make it far, even though there are some newcomers, we can adapt to play together this season. We are in a tougher sectional this year, however, I think we have a chance of a winning season if the team gets along and keeps our heads held high. Come out and support the Lady Kings as their season begins on April 7th against Caston.