Softball swinging into spring; Season continues, athletes grow

  The North Harford softball season has been going on for over a month now. The girls continue to play games and practice almost daily.  

    The varsity squad has  lost just three games since the season started. Head coach Lisa Mullin has been leading them into victories with the help of assistant Coach Chuck Buckland.  

    Junior Brooke Trentler is a catcher and on varsity for the first time. She says the season is going “pretty good, but there are always things [they] can improve on.” The athlete adds there are always new things to improve on, on a team “because no team is perfect,” Trentler says. 

    The catcher says from the beginning of the season “our team morale has improved because we have a more organized way for people to be doing things more equal.” A sophomore who agrees with this is utility player Mackenzie Dunaway. The underclassman also mentions “the bond between us has gotten stronger since the beginning.”  

    Dunaway’s favorite part about being on the team is “the girls [she] plays with.” She explains the coaches are “laid back but strict when it needs to be. When our heads are in the game, they will get harder on us.” Trentler says, “the practices aren’t very hard, but it depends on the day and what we need to work on.”  

    Dunaway says before games she’s “not nervous before games because it’s a relaxed environment.” Something Trentler and Dunaway both said their team can improve on hitting, more specifically, when it comes to a clutch moment or starting off strong.  

     Leading  the underclassman this year is head coach Cheryl Criss and assistant coach Emily Neal.   

Freshman Ava Wimer explains the season had a “rough start but it’s definitely going better than before.” Wimer plays center field and is a first timer on the team. 

    The JV team has not won a game since the season started, but the athletes believe they are improving, freshman Jasmine Cox says, “our communication skills have improved on the field and off with each other.” Wimer also adds “we have definitely gotten better since the beginning because we know what to practice after games.” 

    Wimer explains “we have a D1 athlete who is our assistant coach. She knows what she is doing and how to help us improve.” Cox says the practices are hard and “the coaching style is more effective from the beginning.”  

    Cox says “the team can improve on a little bit of everything but hitting is something we need to get stronger at.” The centerfielder, Wimer, wants to shout out Bella Fisher for “always being a positive light when needed.”