This year, the middle school softball team has started strong. Even though they lost their first game on March 27, against South Side at home, the team only lost by two runs. This is better than last season, since they lost their first game, 1-19, against Mohawk. In their second game this year, they went against Beaver Falls and won 10-0. In their third game against Northgate, they won 15-2. And in their fourth game, they won 19-0 against Quaker Valley. In their fifth game against Keystone Oaks, they won 5-3. And in their sixth game, they won against South Side 10-9.
The softball team consists of five eighth graders and 11 seventh graders. However, the softball team encountered an issue during earlier practices. More than half of the team is involved in the middle school volleyball team and track, which would make them miss practices. The girls are so excited to play more games that are upcoming. Head Coach Wade Rywolt has worked very hard with the assistant coaches, Coach Shannon Moehrle and Coach Amanda Borrelli, to create an amazing and fun experience for the team. Practices are usually on weekdays, from five to seven, or after school. The girls work on fielding, hitting, and stealing bases during practices.
“We did well in the batting cage over the winter, but we’ve not had much opportunity to see if that will translate to live situations,” Rywolt said.
Coach Rywolt believes that the team has improved excellently over the previous season. The girls had an excellent turnout for the pre-season workouts and were able to cover a lot of ground. They have also had a lot of practice on the softball field; however, they also practice on the football turf and in both the middle and high school gyms.
“I think that if we work together, we could do really well as a team this season,” Presley Malsch, seventh-grade softball player, said.
Some differences this season offer are new teams they have never played. Some new teams the softball team goes against are Quaker Valley, Keystone Oaks, Northgate, and South Side. Because of this, the girls are super excited to go against them and hopefully get some wins.
“I’m optimistic about the upcoming season,” Coach Rywolt said, “We have some new teams on our schedule, which should keep things interesting, but if we can work together as a team, we should do well.”
“I think the softball team has a lot to offer this season, not to mention we have four people who play travel ball,” McKenna Kalinoski, seventh-grade softball player, stated.
Freedom Middle School hopes that the softball team has many wins this season and that it will improve from last season!
