Softball takes home first in tournament

Varsity Softball participated in the Sandra Day O’Connor tournament over Spring Break where they took home first place after beating out competitor Cibola 15-0 in only three innings.

To make it to the championship game they had to beat Greenway, a team that proved to be a challenge.

“We were down when we were playing Greenway [in the semi-finals] and we had to regroup and come together to go on to the finals,” senior Courtney Geith said. “They gave us a scare, but we came together as a team and beat them.”

Another obstacle they needed to overcome defeat was motivation, a factor that can be difficult for some teams to have when they’re on a week-long break from school.

“Spring Break tournaments are tough ones to get motivated for,” Coach Jody Pruitt said. “We were on the softball field while other Sunrise students were at the lake.  I was hoping to stay focused and motivated, and we did a pretty good job with it.”

After defeating Greenway 6-0, they went right into championship game squaring off against Cibola.

“I think we were just pumped from the Greenway game and that carried over to the championship game,” Geith said. “It was a good game, Taylor Nowlin pitched a perfect game and it just felt good to win.”

“I was really proud of the kids,” Coach Pruitt said. “We struggled at the plate all week and for us to come out so dominant was good medicine.”

On top of their success at the tournament they were ranked not only first in the state but third in the nation.

“The hard part about being in the top of rankings is that everyone is out to get you,” Coach Pruitt said. “It is nice to see that the girls’ hard work and dedication is being noticed.”

“It’s a good feeling to be at the top but it’s hard to stay there and we just need to keep working hard and not get relaxed with where we are,” Geith said. “We’re just going to take it game by game until we reach our goal of getting to the state championships.”

Still the state championships are far away and they need to stay focused and not let other teams get the better of them.

“I think the tournament was a good time for us to grow as a team and as quality hitters at the plate,” Coach Pruitt said. “A big goal of ours is to not give at bats away,” Coach Pruitt said. “We have a strong offensive team and if we stay focused we will be tough to beat.”