South High’s varsity softball team hit it out of the ballpark this season. Their exceptional performance got them the title of the best in the city. “It feels pretty good because the girls have worked so hard to earn that title. South has never won it before and this group of girls deserved it,” Morgan Frank, former softball player and current coach for the South’s softball team said in an email interview. Frank has been coaching with South High for the past 10 years.

Softball player Freshman Emma Schulz’s highlight of the season was, “Probably when we beat Highland for city champions. That was a good game,” Schulz said. Schulz has been playing Tee Ball since she was five, and moved onto softball after that. She plays softball with a sports club called Club 612, and during the fall she plays volleyball with both South High and a club called Freeze as well.

The highlights of the season for Sophomore and softball player Claire Bentfield were also winning the conference and winning the twin cities game. “The Twin Cities game- that was awesome! We had lost to Highland twice before, then we came back and beat them twice and the last game was the one that really counted,” Bentfield said.

Bentfield has been playing softball with South High since Freshman year, but she was out on the softball field long before then too. She started playing T-Ball at the age of 6, and then began playing softball at around the age 7 or 8. Not only does she play softball during the spring season with South, but she also plays year round with the same club Schulz plays for, Club 612. Bentfield also plays basketball with South during the winter.

This year was a strong year for the girl’s playing. “We are definitely better at defense. We are like a brick wall, we don’t let anything go by us,” Bentfield said. Schulz thinks they have improved on communication, “we’ve gotten to know each other more,” she said.

Not only is the softball team known for doing exceptionally well at their games, but all of the girls on the team have bonded really well. “I love playing the game itself, and also friends all play too, or if they’re not your friends they will be your friends by the end of the season” Bentfield said laughing, “so you can just hang out with your friends everyday and do something you love.” The girls have gotten to have a fun time while hanging out. “We had a pizza party and then we have practice everyday so we hang out a lot,” Schulz said. These close relationships are encouraged by their coach as well. “My favorite part is getting to see the girls laugh and have fun while working hard to reach their goals,” Frank said.

Not only is the tight knit community that the softball team offers fun, but it ultimately helps their performance on the field as well because they know each other’s capabilities. “We only lost two seniors last year and again we are only losing two this year we are definitely bonded better so we know what each other can and can’t do and we know everything about each other,” Bentfield said. Schulz noticed how their closeness helped them on the playing field as well. “We all worked together… we bonded more,” Schulz said. Frank has also been focused on making sure there wasn’t too much negative pressure on them while playing. “My strategy this year was to make sure at the end of every day the girls could say they had fun no matter what the outcome was,” Frank said.

While softball is a physical sport, the mental part of the game is just as important. “We really put our minds to it. Our coaches always say ‘softball’s a mental game’ and I think we really took that to heart and we made it happen- we convinced ourselves that we would win and we did,” Bentfield said. “The team has improved on their mental game,” Frank said. “We worked hard this season but had fun. We learned how to help each other mentally and that really helped in the long run,” Frank said.

The players have high hopes for next season. “I wanna make it past the first game in sections next year I know we can do it we got really close this year,” Bentfield said. Overall the players on the team are excited for the future and proud of their accomplishments so far. “It feels amazing, it’s cool to be known throughout the city,” Bentfield said.