By DAVID WOOD, for The Democrat
For three straight seasons, the varsity softball team has found overwhelming success.
In years past, the program struggled and failed to end even with a neutral record, let alone put together a 17-0 streak in one season.
They’re ranked in the top five in Division 3A and top 50 overall in the state while receiving broadcast coverage from the Indiana Sports Network, as well as other media. No longer the underdog, for these girls, winning is an expectation and not just a fanciful dream.
However, they’re now faced with a new dilemma: finding the right type of success.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Their 3-0 loss to Northview on May 23 marks the third consecutive postseason where they’ve come up one game shy of the sectional championship.
“The girls as a group are continuing to learn what it means to win on a high level, how to play and sustain it. I think that’s the battle right now. It feels like that’s been the battle for three years because we have spurts where we play really well,” head coach Kevin Greve said.
“We won 17 in a row at one point this year and all of a sudden we go 2-4 to finish the season. They have to find a way to sustain success.”
The Eagles were handed their first loss late into the season in May against Edgewood, who took them out of last year’s sectionals.
Up until that point, they easily dismantled most teams with 12 of their 19 wins ending in a shutout, one of which being a 4-0 win over Northview.
However, Northview took their revenge by reclaiming the Western Indiana Conference crossover championship 6-5, and then shutting Brown County out of postseason contention.
“It’s tough to keep them off balance, but I thought (pitcher) Emma (Summers) did a really good job for seeing them for the third time,” Greve said.
“I thought she gave us every chance she could to win tonight. Holding them to three is no easy task. … We just couldn’t get some timely hits.”
Junior and first baseman Taylor Poling agreed with Greve, but added that Northview has a great ability to adapt.
“We played our hearts out, but the offense wasn’t there tonight, and that’s what we needed. Our defense was on, but you have to have everything to win a game,” she said.
“They adjusted and keep on adjusting. We don’t, and we need to work on that.”
For Greve and company, the WIC crossover and sectional championships have become the primary focus. It’s no longer enough to just have a winning season.
Nine of the 13 members will be seniors next year, so their opportunity to adapt is coming to a close.
“Nineteen-and-4 is great. We had a good year, but we didn’t win WIC and we didn’t win sectionals. These were some of our basic goals and we didn’t reach them,” Greve said.
“The record looks great, but at the same time, there’s bigger fish to fry. These girls have one more chance, because the hourglass is running out.”
Catcher and junior Adriana Kritzer hopes the loss is a wake-up call.
“I’m hoping it will push us to play harder next year, because we’ve done this three years in a row now where we’ve fallen short. We know we can take it to the next level and I think that’ll make us push even harder.”
