This year, North Creek High School’s softball team is quite small compared to other high schools. There are only twelve girls on the varsity team and without a junior varsity team, these girls have some struggles to overcome.
“It’s a lot of pressure to not get hurt,” said Grace Pinder. With a team as small as theirs, getting hurt can really impact their season. “We only have two pitchers, so if one of us got hurt that would be unfortunate,” said Reagan Fleming.
Even without injuries, the lack of players means that the girls have to play multiple positions. “Having people where they don’t usually play, play in different positions is a challenge,” said Pinder. The shortage of players has many of the girls playing positions that aren’t their main, which is difficult when it comes to unfamiliar positions.
“The people we have are solid in their skills but it would also be nice to have more (people) who are (also) solid in their skills,” said Fleming. Despite the skilled and talented players on the team, trying to fill in the empty spots serves to be a challenge. Having more people on the team could definitely benefit the girls.
So far, the girls have been doing well. With an overall record of 8-1 this season, they seem to be taking the challenge of a small team well. With just a little over a month left of the regular season, Pinder said that she felt ‘excited’ for the rest of the season, and that her and Fleming are confident in their team and they hope to make it far.
