The softball team played its final game of the season against Lewisville on April 22. The team lost 0-2, making them unable to go to the playoffs. 

“[This season has] been very up and down,” junior right fielder Haley Butker said. “We’ve had really big successes, like our first game against Marcus, which is one of our biggest rivals. We won 8-1 right off the bat, but the next time we played Marcus, we lost. We’re a very good team, but when one of us is off, the rest of us are off.”

Last season, the team finished first in the district. This season, they ended fifth in the district, losing a spot in the playoffs in their final game. 

“I think our lowest moment [of the season] was the ending where we lost to Lewisville,” junior pitcher Lucy Crowder said. “I felt there were parts where we could’ve done better, and we shouldn’t have been put in positions we [were in]. It’s sad because it’s been a while since we haven’t made the playoffs. I thought we could really make it, but it’s kind of a learning curve, and we’ll get past it.”

Assistant coach Deja Talton said the players grew throughout the season by becoming closer with one another.

“We were [all] kind of going different directions at the beginning of the season,” Talton said. “But toward the end, we seemed like one cohesive group where they were bonding with each other and great relationships were built there.”

Due to a shoulder injury, Butker considered not returning for next season. As the end of the season approached, she said she was not ready to stop playing. Her shoulder was also doing unexpectedly well, so she ultimately decided to stay for next season. Butker said the sport still has many challenges, but it is worth it. 

“We do mentally tough drills that are really hard,” Butker said. “They’ll last three hours long and people will cry during them. It’s hard, but it [makes] us so much closer. I will not forget [those] drills because it sucked in the moment, but afterward, we all brought each other up and cheered for each other.”

Overall, in district and in tournaments, the team won 17 games, lost nine and tied one this season.

“One memory from this season was the fight,” Talton said. “Even though we didn’t always end up on the winning side of things, this team always fought to the very last pitch. I never felt like they gave up, ever.”