The Marshfield Pirates slide into the baseball and softball spring season with practices every weekday from 3:45 to 6pm. The softball team practices at the ESD field, and baseball is at the home field, next to the junior high.
Softball began their season strong with 13 wins and 5 losses. They are ranked 5 out of 31 and they are ready to beat anyone in their way to get to state. As usual, they are coached by MHS counselor Chelsea Burns.
“This season is really good, we have a really strong team and everyone works really hard and takes their positions very seriously,” said senior softball player Natalie Jadin. “We all work hard and as a unit instead of separate and we’re all just a big sisterhood.”
Most of the softball players have been playing most of their lives and they are eager to play in college as well. Jadin plays third base, as well as catcher and outfield positions. She plans to continue her softball career at the University of Northern Colorado. Senior Gracie Peach is a catcher and plans to go to Umpqua Community College and play for one year.
“I’m expecting a lot of us to go all out because most of the team is seniors,” said Peach. “So I’m expecting a lot of our seniors to give it all they got.”
Burns pushes the athletes to perform to their own individual levels, encouraging them to clear their heads before practice, and focus just on the sport. She focuses on teamwork over grandstanding, and tries to keep practices fun.
“I think she’s leaning towards more of a positive attitude,” said Peach about Coach Burns. “She wants to get our information on what we believe we need to work on personally, and as a whole group”
Whether on or off the field, Burns tries to get the softball players to strive for success.
“I would say she’s not super hard on us,” said Jadin. “But she does make us work, and she always makes us take accountability for what we do. She pushes us past what we believe our limitations are.”
Softball is different from most sports. Not in just the way the game is played but also the dedication it takes to play. Each player has their own individual role to play, but if they don’t work together, it can cause the entire team to fail.
“Softball is really hard because it is a very mental game on the field,” said Peach. “One error can really hurt the team a lot. It’s both a mental and physical sport. Whether at bat, or in the field, we need to be able to not focus on the past and keep moving forward.”
