On Feb. 20, the Steinbrenner Softball team played in a home match against the Gaither Cowboys. Though the game only contained one run, which resulted in a 1-0 win for Steinbrenner, the Warriors played hard defense in order to ensure their victory against their opponents.
Steinbrenner started the game with Mikayla Johnson pitching to Gaither. They were able to quickly get Gaither out, with a hit straight to Mikayla and a pass to first baseman Frankie Raeckers to end the top of the first inning.
The Warriors quickly got three outs, however played strong on defense to regain their position at bat in the second inning. Raeckers ended Gaither’s turn at bat when she ran to the fence to catch a high foul ball, getting Gaither their third out.
The second time Steinbrenner went up to bat, they were able to score their only point of the game. Stephanie Balmer was able to hit a ground ball past the pitcher and get a single in the beginning of the inning, and later was able to run into home plate. The inning ended 1-0, which would be the final score of the game.
Though no one else scored the rest of the game, there were several very exciting plays on defense. In the fourth inning, senior Meg Pierro made a double play by snatching the ball and tagging second base to get the girl running from first base out, and then passed to first base to get the batter out. A big hit out to center field ended the inning, with a great catch by centerfielder Alexis Buchman.
Also, another major play of the game was when Gaither had bases loaded in the fifth inning. The batter had three balls and two strikes, with only one more out to go. One ball would be a walk, and therefore cause the girl on third base to get a free run, tying the score, however another hard hit out to Alexis Buchman prevented Gaither from scoring.
One of the most important plays of the game was when Gaither had first and second base loaded in the sixth inning, with two outs. The batter hit a ball out to third base, but Steinbrenner couldn’t catch it. The girl on second base rounded third base and looked as if she was going to make it home, however left fielder Savannah Lyall grabbed the ball and threw it to catcher Stephanie Balmer, who tagged the Gaither runner before they got to base.
Steinbrenner, though they didn’t dominate offensively, played very strongly on defense to ensure their win over Gaither. The team hopes to continue their success with the rest of their season ahead of them.
Nicolas Sowell // Co-Sports Editor
