By DAVID WOOD, for The Democrat
Brown County High School varsity softball opened their second week with a clean 18-0 sweep over Eastern Greene.
The returning WIC champions are 3-0 and seem poised to fly even higher.
“Going 16-4 last year had its good moments, but during some wins, you’d feel like we could have done more,” Head Coach Kevin Greve said.
“Tonight feels like the first win where, from the get-go, we took care of business and got the job done. We’ve not done that before.”
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]The veteran squad put up 11 runs in the first inning.
“Today, I would categorize that as just taking care of business. We’re hitting the ball really well right now and I thought the defense looked better tonight,” he said.
Senior Gracie Bay and junior Myka Snyder both said this game was less intense than the previous two, but were still happy with their team’s performance and effort.
“I think that we handled this game with class and we really got the job done. I’m really proud of my team for bringing their best against a team that isn’t difficult to beat,” Snyder said.
“The first two games were a little more intense, but in this one, we didn’t let up.”
The Eagles opened their season with an 8-1 win over Scottsburg, whose pitcher was the state leader in strikeouts, Greve said.
The following 7-3 win over North Central, ranked second in 1A, proved to be an even more intense struggle which came down to the wire. Entering the seventh inning down by two runs, Brown County put together clutch back-to-back scores to even it up. Junior Taylor Poling then stepped up with bases loaded and hit a grand slam to close it out.
“The start of the season has been great. … It started out good and hopefully will end the same way,” Bay said.
“We’ve gotten a lot closer. Last year in sectionals we kind of got flustered and cut off short. Hopefully this year will be better … hopefully state champions.”
Snyder agreed with Bay, believing their 3-0 start has given the team a lot of post-season optimism.
“It shows us that we have a bright season ahead of us, and great things are in store,” she said
“I really hope that our team can go on into maybe even semistate. That would be amazing and I know my team’s capable of it.”
Despite soaring hopes for post-season success, Greve is still sticking with the coach’s mantra of one game at a time. Also, it’s not just about winning itself, but how you do it.
“The way you win can change. So, even if you go 16-4, you can do the same the next year, and it can feel completely different. It’s all about the way you win and the way the girls go about their business,” he said.
“For a lot of these girls, it’s about taking that next step, because a lot of them have been playing varsity for two years now. … It’s about them taking that experience and capitalizing off of it and growing.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Meet the Eagles” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Sophomores: Isa Fogg, Kylie Herald
Juniors: Whitney Clark, Sara Fishel, Aubrey Hollander, Adriana Kritzer, Marley Nickels, Taylor Poling, Myka Snyder, Allison Stogsdill, Emma Summers
Seniors: Gracie Bay, Hailey Lane
[sc:pullout-text-end]
