Both the varsity girls’ softball team and varsity boys’ baseball team have winning seasons and have a lot of hope of success from both the team and the spectators for the rest of the season. Due to how much both teams improved, and how the changes from last year to this year have affected their teams either good or bad, we wanted to get to the bottom of spark.
| Questions | Boys’ Varsity Baseball Team
Answers |
Girls’ Varsity Softball Team Answers |
| What do you think about the change from this year to last year involving both the team and your team record? | Junior Elijah Morton- “I think that we’ve been playing better as a team and been playing more for each other.” Senior Kenneth Turner- “Last year was a good experience for us showing us how to win as a team and how much potential we had. We had just about our whole team coming back with a few spots to fill and our whole pitching rotation back, so we knew we had something good coming into this year.” Senior Weston Bruce- “Last year we were a very young team and not as experienced. This year we have mostly seniors so there’s more team chemistry.” Senior Cade Walters- “Improvement in our pitching staff and the talent we acquired.” |
Freshman Samantha Money- “Although me and most of the younger girls weren’t on the team I think the hearts just changed. There is much more positivity than there was before causing our record to immediately show a greater difference and be better then it was last year.” Junior McKayla Finkelstein- “I think the team has changed a lot, we lost a handful of seniors but in return, we gained a handful of talented underclassmen. Our record so far is stronger than last year, and moving down to division 3 has helped our record. But we are hoping to come out of this season with few losses and high stats so we can move back up to division 1 where we belong.” Junior Mary Creekmore- “The softball team this year knows we have a lot to prove in [terms] of what division we are in and the fact that we have a lot of talent that came up from the middle school this year. The change from this year to last year is great. This is because we know we can always get better and that we can help each other get there. The record just comes from us working together, and it is an upside because this is the best record we have had in a very long time.” Junior, Jenna Topalis- “This year we have a more talented and stronger team and right now it’s definitely showing with our record.” |
| What do you think the rest of the season has at hand for your team? | Junior Elijah Morton- “I think we should do a pretty well going into the end of our regular season and play a big role in both the ECC and state tournament.” Senior Kenneth Turner- “I feel we have a lot to accomplish still this year and it starts just game by game. We set out to win our division and the ECC title from day one, and we feel we have the team to beat going into the state tournament.” Senior Weston Bruce- “We know that we can’t take any team lightly but we are a very talented and have a good chance to keep this winning streak going.” Senior Cade Walters- “A state championship.” |
Freshman Samantha Money- “I think the rest of the season is gonna be full of many wins. When the tougher games come up I believe we’re gonna shine through because of all of hard work and practice every day.” Junior McKayla Finkelstein- “I think the rest of the season is very promising for us. We have people on our team who can play any position so if worse comes to worse and someone gets injured we have people right there ready to fill in.” Junior Mary Creekmore- “The rest of the season is going to be our proving grounds coming off from our loss against Plainfield. This is going to show the teams we will face that we are still just as good as we were before and that we are a threat. We just walked in cocky and got shown that you have to come in with the mindset to win the game.” Junior Jenna Topalis- “The rest of the season is only going to get more difficult, as we will be facing better competition.” |
| What do you think is a crucial part to your team’s wins? | Junior Elijah Morton- “Both defense and picking each other up.” Senior Kenneth Turner- “A crucial part to our team’s wins is our pitching. We’ve been fortunate to have strong starts from our starters and haven’t really needed to rely on our good bullpen to close out games which have been a huge help.” Senior Weston Bruce- “Our pitching this year has been phenomenal.” Senior Cade Walters- “Our pitching staff.” |
Freshman Samantha Money- “I think all of the close bonds and friendships we’ve made over the past months have shaped so much team chemistry and trust so when we step on that field there’s nothing we’re all thinking but to win.” Junior McKayla Finkelstein- “I think a crucial part to our team wins is everyone contributing, whether it be base running, hitting, or playing in the field. Everyone has something different that we can bring to every game which comes in handy during games (such as counting on someone to lay down the bunt and be safe in the steal).” Junior Mary Creekmore- “The crucial part of our team wins is definitely our team chemistry and the fact that we all have each other’s backs on the field and that we can move on from errors that come with being nervous. Another crucial part is our mindsets walking into the game. Behind the dugout, each game our coach asks us what team we are playing and we respond with bazooka state. This is because no matter who we are playing we have to play like they are the toughest in the state.” Junior Jenna Topalis- “A crucial part to our winning is mentally staying focused and ready for every game. No matter what team it is, we are always ready to give 100% every time.” |
| Is there anything you need to work on as a team? | Junior Elijah Morton- “We need to have better ‘at-bats’ at the plate and get the key hits that we need to score.”
Senior Kenneth Turner- “As a team we struggle at the plate we need to start stringing our hits together and try not to scatter them throughout the game and put more runs on the board.” |
Freshman Samantha Money- “I think our focus can get a little funkytown sometimes since we have a lot of huge personalities on the team and we all love each other so much we can get a little off topic.” Junior McKayla Finkelstein- “As a team we just need to work on chemistry some more, some of us have played together our whole life, others haven’t. So just getting used to each other a little more and trusting that they will catch the ball and that they will get the bunt down when you are on base.” Junior Mary Creekmore- “We have a lot to work on as a team. During warm ups we can’t fool around and we need to focus more because sometimes we fool around a little too much and get sloppy.” Junior Jenna Topalis- “We could definitely work on building a stronger team relationship because we are such a young team and will be playing with each other for a while.” |
| How does it feel to be on your team? | Junior Elijah Morton- “It feels good playing with a bunch of people that want nothing more than to win.” Senior Kenneth Turner- “It feels great to be on a team like this. It is something that my fellow teammates and I have talked about since freshman year because we knew we were going to be good. Now we just need to stay focused because we know we have a chance to do what no other Ledyard team has ever done before, and that’s to put a ring on our fingers.” Senior Weston Bruce- “It feels great. As the catcher, I put work in every day and the feeling to be this successful is awesome.” Senior Cade Walters- “It’s awesome. We have a well-rounded group of guys are fun to be around every day.” |
Freshman Samantha Money- “To be on this team is really a blessing. I’ve never been on a team where all the girls get along and just go so smoothly together that this team feels like you step on the field and you’re immediately comfortable and it really feels like a second home.” Junior McKayla Finkelstein- “Being on the softball team is great, I mean it definitely is different than my experience on the indoor track team and the volleyball team. Every team is different. But playing on a team like this makes you feel dedicated; during softball season you know that you could possibly have five games a week or a game on prom or Sundays, you have to be VERY committed. There’s no more free time, just softball. But from that you develop a second family, these are the people I’m with every single day and with that becomes new friendships and great memories that you will remember forever.” Junior Mary Creekmore- “Being on the team that I am on is something someone could only wish for. It is almost what you see in the movies, because at practice we all fool around and have jokes that we say, and play on each other. But come game time, we are there to win and we can all look to the people next to us and know that they are there for the same reason that I am.” Junior Jenna Toplais- “It feels good to be with a fun group of girls who all get along. We have all gotten super close as a team so far and it’s exciting to see everyone have a good time playing this sport.” |
Junior Tajeah Winston is a co-editor for the 2018-2019 Colonel newspaper and Horizons yearbook. She loves just about any sport almost as much as she loves cows. She is often spotted eating crazy amounts of white rice.
THE COLONEL NEWSMAGAZINE 