Softball is keeping up the fight as the season comes to a close. The varsity team is finishing out with a 8-17 record. The season saw many close games, including beating Lake Oswego by one run, and losing to West Salem and Tigard by one run each.

“We’ve lost by one in extra innings a couple of times, which is unfortunate,” said outfield/baseman Grace Kriwanek. “But those are the games you want to be in because they’re the fun ones to play.”

The team is currently ranked No. 24 in state, projecting they will compete in state playoffs.

In the meantime, softball season keeps its players busy.

“We play three games a week, every week, for two and a half months,” said second baseman Sydney Lee. “We need to keep our energy up. It gets to be a lot.”

When asked about the challenges games could bring, Lee mentioned facing skilled pitchers.

“Hitting is hard against a team with a good pitcher,” she said. “Really good pitchers have all sorts of stuff to trick you with.”

After the season ends, the team will lose six senior players of its 14 total. In previous years, the team has been mostly composed of upperclassmen. This year it was half and half.

“The freshmen coming in this year are a very talented group, and there’s a ton of them,” said Kriwanek. “There’s a ton of talented girls on JV as well.”

What everyone emphasized was the importance of inter-team relationships.

“The best part is building the connections with your team,” said Kriwanek. “Especially because it’s such an intense ‘go-go-go’ season and you spend so much time together.”

But for these athletes, the hard work isn’t over for long. Preseason starts back up again this summer, followed by practices in fall and winter. There really is nothing “soft” about the LHS softball.