Even though the LHS softball season started out rocky with losses to Fauquier and Sherando, the team kept their heads high and moved on to beat Culpeper 15-10, and then beat Millbrook 11-8 later that week. The team is optimistic and ready to put in the work to keep winning games. Even with the rough start the players are still working and still wanting to win more than ever.

“I think the rest of the season’s going to be good. Our first two games were tough, but we see them [Fauquier] again on our field soon to overturn those outcomes,” said junior Katelynn Lewis.

“I think we will get better after our 0-2 start. We just won so all we can do is keep working and get better to improve our record. There is so much we need to grow on,” said senior Taylor Smith.

The team knows what went wrong at the beginning of the season and is working hard to fix their mistakes.

“We have a young team so there is a lot of mental mistakes. We are really trying to break the game down to make sure we get outs,” said Smith.

“The biggest struggle our team has had over this season is learning how to work together. Most of us play on travel teams, but everyone’s travel team is a different level of play. Learning to work together when there are girls on the team that don’t know how to do certain things while other girls do is challenging. To fix the problem, we are mingling around more, switching spots at practice, and working harder to go over plays,” said freshman Rileigh Greer.

If the team keeps winning and keeps improving, they will play into late June and the temperature could play a big part. If the softball team makes it into their post season, they will be playing through the summer. Heat can affect the body in a lot of different ways and could affect the outcome of games.

“The heat tends to make the games seem longer because most kids are gassed by the 6th inning,” said Smith.

Even with the heat and the rocky start to the season, LHS softball has big goals for the team and themselves individually. They are ready to work hard and win more games. Their team goals are all similar, however, they are each striving for their own personal goals as well.

“My personal goal is to be more confident every single time I step in the box. I’ve always had a little nervousness in me whenever I get up to hit the ball, so I want to squash that this season. A team goal is to be able to communicate with each other. By the end of the season, I want our infield and outfield to be working together with no miscommunications or difficulties,” said senior Keely Crane.

“My personal goal is to get a hit and on-base at least 2 times a game. My team goal is making us gel together and understand that coming together (communicating) both will help us win games,” said Smith.

The Liberty High School softball team is a hard-working group of girls and they have big goals. They are on a path to show everyone that they are the team people should be worried to play. Keep an eye on them as they finish up their season and hopefully bring home more wins!