After a big win for the WAHS varsity softball team against one of the top ranked teams, Silverton High School, the girls took a positive turning point.

     “I feel like it [the season] was just kind of up and down in different ways,” varsity softball coach Danielle Duman explains. “That Silverton game was a big moment for us, and being able to travel there and go against a really good strong team in our league is tough.”

     “We came out really hot with our bats. We had our freshman Mikayla Chaffins come in and throw for us that game…you gotta do what you got to do in the moment when circumstances call for it “ Coach Duman says that the Silverton game ended up going really well for the re-arranged team with freshman pitcher Mikayla Chaffins they had played that game. 

     “After our game against Silverton we knew we had a chance,” Junior Brooklyn Barker said. After that, the team knew they were headed in the right direction.

What got this team to the playoffs?

“It’s that circle of control that we talked about that attitude and that effort, that enthusiasm, that passion for the game, that grit for the game, and wanting to go out and execute for the betterment of the team but for each other and having that trust with each other and playing for one another, ” Coach Duman said.

“Alia Bolin had two strikes on her and hit a home run in the game. So that pumped us up because that was her first ever home run, and a game against a very good team so I think that got us going more,” Player Brooklyn says [grade] player Alia Bolin hitting a home run during the Silverton game helped them play even better. 

     The varsity team didn’t make it fully through the playoffs but their commitment to play for each other got them through an up and down season.