Parents, coaches, faculty and friends filled Archer’s stands to cheer on the varsity softball team Thursday, April 16, from 3:30-4:45 p.m. The Archer softball team competed against Viewpoint’s varsity team in a seven-inning game. As athletes sprinted across the freshly painted sand, the audience leaned in to watch the game.
Archer lost to Viewpoint 10-0. However, cheers from Archer’s stands and dugout continued throughout the game.
Sophomore Rowan Schwarz typically plays catcher, and said it was important for Archer to focus on understanding how the opposing team plays — their strategies and plays. She also said the team’s support, like when her teammates give a small pep talk, help relieve the pressure of the game and make everything seem less intimidating.
“We already got mercied by them before, and they’ve always been a good team. So we cannot make the same errors,” Schwarz said. “Even if we don’t win, just play the best we can play. And then obviously keep spirits up — like the pitcher was obviously good — but I think not to overthink stuff, make it more natural and just play the best we can to keep the spirits high.”
Freshman Harley Nichols plays right field and said her first year playing softball has been really fun. She said, despite the score of the game, the team worked well together because so many different athletes played together on the field. Nichols said the score did not accurately reflect the team’s spirit, dynamic or capability. She said she believes the team could improve its communication for the next game.
“I think one thing that I took away from the last game is that the score doesn’t always accurately reflect the game. Obviously, we lost by a lot, but I think that, as a team, we did really well, and we definitely grew from our previous games,” Nichols said. “One thing that was really helpful is that, despite the fact that we didn’t get any runs yesterday, we did come close a bunch of times. We were getting hits, we were actually getting on base, we did great in the outfield and in defense.”
Junior Maya Bell said she saw how the team has improved since the beginning of the spring season and said the dynamic of the team has been really fun. Bell usually plays first and third base, as well as outfield. She said Archer’s defense was impressive despite the loss and strong opposing offense, and that this was the best game the team has played so far.
“I think a challenge for all of us is their pitcher. She has been dominant for the last few years that we’ve played her, and she actually is committed to playing softball in college … But we knew that if we just tried our best and did what we know how to do, we were going to be okay,” Bell said. “Viewpoint’s definitely the toughest team in our league, and we knew that coming in because we played them once before.”
Schwarz said she is not mad about the loss because the team still played well. She said the moment the spirit dies, everything starts going downhill. Her team did their best because they had positive energy, and the game was one of the best this season, she said.
“I actually think that even though they got runs, we kept our energy up. It could have been so much worse if we just completely gave up,” Schwarz said. “I’m honestly not even mad about it. I mean, we had played them before, and we had lost the game, but we had lost within four innings because we got mercied. We definitely held our own this time. I also just think we were much more enthusiastic. We kept the energy up even when we were losing, and we definitely held onto our hope. Even though we lost, we won in our own way.”
