Girls JV softball secures 5-3 win over Orange

Avery Sexton '24 and Melaina Roach '24 practice pitching and catching. All players arrived half an hour before the game to warm up. Other players practiced batting and positioning.

Avery Sexton ’24 and Melaina Roach ’24 practice pitching and catching. All players arrived half an hour before the game to warm up. Other players practiced batting and positioning.

Audrey Tartaglia, Intro Writer
April 19, 2021

   Apr. 7, the Berlin girls Junior Varsity softball team took their second win of the season on home field against Orange. 

   It was a slow start with no points for either team in the first inning. However, in the second inning, after Orange struck out again with no points, Berlin’s Ava Kresak ‘24 crossed home plate when her hit went to left field before Grace Kemper’s ‘24 hit was caught, the first point on the scoreboard. Between each innings, both teams watched the other warm-up on the field.

   “We watch so that we can see how good they are, who to hit to and who not to hit to,” Grace Kemper said.

   The third inning came and went with no points for either team. After that, on Berlin’s turn up to the plate, Reese Manley ‘24 makes it around the diamond to home plate and took another point for her team- a 2-0 lead for Berlin. Next inning, Orange’s Alyssa Evans ‘24 made it to home plate, her team’s first point of the game. Berlin countered when Sheridan Paykoff reached home, tying the inning and leaving the score 3-1. 

Berlin’s JV softball girls watch the other team’s plays and cheer on their teammates. On the field they focused on playing, off the field they focused on the other players. Whether on or off, they always encouraged each other.

   “Coming out ahead in the fourth inning boosted our morale by tenfold. And coming from our first victory, I think we realized that we might just be able to maintain a victory streak. We buckled down, and focused on making each and every play count,” Elizabeth Sprecher ‘24 said.

   Sixth inning, Orange earned no points, and the door opened for Berlin’s Kresak and Sprecher to score two more points for their team. In the final inning with the score to Berlin 5-1, Orange had to get at least four points to tie, but even when Regan Adams and Olivia Johnson made home plate it wasn’t enough to win. Thus, with an end score of 5-3, Berlin took the win!

At the end of the game, all the players gather and discuss the game. They pointed out the great runs by the batters and the strategies they could have improved on. A lot of the players cheered for their win against the rival school.

   “I felt really good when we won the game because one, they were our rival school and two, interdistrict games are always super intimidating. Also, because it was our second back-to-back win of the season it was especially great,” Avery Sexton ‘24 said.