Softball Continues Successful Season
Exeter and Brooks are neck and neck halfway through last Saturday’s softball game. The Brooks hitter strikes the ball in a line drive down the center of the field. Big Red’s shortstop, senior Ella Johnson, leaps into the air to snatch the ball in a remarkable play of speed and agility. This catch was crucial to Exeter’s triumph over Brooks.
If the hit had snuck through our infielders, it would have brought a Brooks girl home and given them another point. Lower Jill Cloonan stated the play by Johnson “held the team in the game by getting the Brooks girl out and inspiring her teammates to work that hard as well.”
On Wednesday, Principal MacFarlane called for a Principal’s Day to be the following day on Thursday, where no sports practices are able to be held. Due to this decision and being rained out on Friday, the team was not able to practice for its Saturday game. The team’s season had continued with a two game losing streak against Andover and BB&N. “We all really wanted to win after two close losses,” upper Juliana Merullo explained.
In a well-deserved win, Exeter overcame a challenging circumstance and a competitive opponent in this close game against Brooks. Since Big Red was playing on a foreign court, they had to contend with a new field and atmosphere.
“[The game against Brooks] was another example of how we work together as a team to reach our goal, and I am excited to continue to work hard with the rest of my teammates to have a successful season.”
According to senior Kaleigh Conte,“It was an especially difficult defensive game because the infield was a grass infield rather than a dirt one.” Adding to the away disadvantage, Brooks let their aggressive side shine throughout the game. “It was a very scrappy team in the sense that you can never count them out of the game,” Merullo recalled. “Even when we had a lead we wanted to make sure to stay focused and continue to be technically sound.” With Brooks chasing at Exeter’s lead all game, the girls had to concentrate, especially on their fundamental skills.
Big Red girls looks forward to their upcoming game against Kimball Union Academy, hoping to primarily focus on reducing the number of errors while playing, which can be detrimental in tight games. “[The team] can work on stringing hits together so that we don’t leave players on base, which we can work towards by just improving our hitting altogether,” Merullo said.
Looking forward, Conte added, “We are very excited to be facing some good competition and playing teams we usually do not see.” The team has a lot of potential, with four talented freshmen, and they are prepared to continue to work throughout the remainder of the season.
Cloonan mentioned her positive outlook, saying, “[The game against Brooks] was another example of how we work together as a team to reach our goal, and I am excited to continue to work hard with the rest of my teammates to have a successful season.”