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(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Tiffany Cotter fields a ball at shortstop Wednesday, June 18. Cotter is one of several veteran leaders returning to the team this season. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Gabriella Reyes takes a swing at a ball Wednesday, June 18 for the Lady Blues. Reyes also played a new position in the outfield. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Kerstin Schupbach defended out in right field Wednesday, June 18. Schupbach was one of two new players in the lineup that day along with third baseman Hudson Wright.
The Graham Lady Blues varsity softball team concluded their summer league season in Holliday this past week. Their final slate of games marks a stretch of development and learning through adversity.
The team from Graham opened their summer schedule Wednesday, June 4, against City View and Vernon. The team started off strong sweeping both of those opponents winning 7-2 and 12-0 respectively.
However, after this hot start, that’s where difficulties in scheduling and performance started to kick in.
The Lady Blues were supposed to meet in Holliday a week earlier, June 11, for a stretch of games but ultimately had to cancel with too many players being away.
Due to this, they turned their sites to the final week of play this past Wednesday, June 18, for a fresh stretch of games against Windhorst and Holliday.
It was not a great day on the stat sheet for the Lady Blues, they lost both games 9-3 and 9-1. Despite this, coach Tiffany Pruitt said overall she believed the summer league was a positive experience.
“I think they’re making progress,” Pruitt said. “I think the extra reps and the additional time at the plate, especially mound time, they’re progressing. We’ve got a lot of young kids so we’re prepping for the season.”
Overall, because of the absence of players like Ruby Shaffer from week one, other players had to play different positions which should help them gain experience as they progress towards regular season play.
There were also some new faces introduced into the lineup this past week as well.
Hudson Wright commanded the corner at third base while Kerstin Schupbach manned the outfield.
Both will look to be contributors on the team next season.
Coach Pruitt is also hoping to organize other games for the team to play in to keep them in rhythm for a potential fall league.
