With the end of each sports season comes the end of seniors’ careers and the offseason grind for others to get better First year head coach TJ Eadus-Leapley had a lot to say about this year’s seniors. To Coach TJ Eadus-Leapley, they were exceptionally special due to the fact it was her first group of seniors.

“Mia Lund was the total package for us this year. She was the captain in our outfield and dominated our lead off spot in the line up,” Eadus-Leapley said. “Grace Chin was the quiet storm. She didn’t say much and handled her business as our starting left fielder. Lana Armsbury came to us not playing her three previous years. She was our Marino Rivera of sorts. She closed out our games and kept us in games. Salem Liebenthal was our transfer senior pitcher who was a firecracker right out the gate. Salem was our starting pitcher. She kept teams off balance and in check. Emma Rieser held down our DP spot as she was overcoming some injuries. She excelled in hitting and we were glad that she was able to contribute considering what she was going through. Rylee Cain is every coach and pitcher’s dream. She is the best defensive catcher in the state.”

Every girl at every level for the Westside softball team should be proud of the way they did this year. Compared to what has happened the last group of years, this group should be beaming with joy. They were runners-up at the Gross invite, they won the Blair Invite and were  District Runners-Up.

Eadus-Leapley said returning players and upcoming players should be excited for the future. They have things to work on and a great coach to help with all of that. 

“I’m excited to see their growth from what they do in summer ball. I’m hoping they will take some things they’ve learned from us and transfer it over and just become better players,” Eadus-Leapley said. “Now that we have a year under our belt, our returners know and understand our expectations. They know the intensity and devotion we bring and what we are looking for. It will be a smoother transition working into the season.”

Eadus-Leapley has many things that she wants to focus on for this upcoming season. 

“Hitting – We still have a lot to work on when it comes to hitting and breaking down swings but we are coming along. Conditioning – We have to come back stronger and in shape. We missed that aspect coming into the season and it took some time away from practicing,” Eadus-Leapley said. “Mental Toughness – We are still working on being students of the game not just robots with a one track mindset. This is by far our biggest challenge.”

Eadus-Leapley said that softball is a tremendous opportunity to learn something new and to be around great people.

“This year was a success. We overcame a lot and it was worth it. I’ve coached summer ball for a long time and I’ve always heard from players that they hate high school ball and a long list of reasons. One of our goals was to have our kids love it and to remember how fun it is and why they play. I hope our kids look forward to coming back and enjoying it rather than it being a job. When that happens it gets everyone involved and a fun atmosphere to be around,” Eadus-Leapley said.