The Kingswood Oxford varsity softball team is having a solid start to the season and is very excited to play in their first normal season due to prior Covid-19 restrictions. The team has a record of 1-4 with losses to the Taft School, St. Luke’s School, and Choate but an opening home victory against Green Farms Academy.
The team is filled with talented, dedicated, and competitive players who understand the game and have a great foundation of skills—throwing, catching, bunting. This was evident during the game against Green Farms Academy, where those skills ultimately gave them the win of 6-5.
The games have given the team a good idea of what they are doing well and what needs improvement. “The team is the strongest defensively and in the circle with two strong pitchers,” Head Coach Jason Bradley said. “In addition, we are strong up the middle of the field.”
Communication is something that could be worked on, and there are a few technical skills that could be improved as well. “The team is trying to focus on having positive energy and staying more even-keeled throughout the whole game,” senior outfielder Captain Mackenzie Caruso said, “rather than getting super excited when we are doing well and then super low when we are not doing so well.” Freshman catcher Olivia Gallup agreed with Caruso. “In terms of improvements, sometimes we need to keep up the energy when we’re down as that would really help,” she said.
In practice, increasing the speed of the game and getting on defense as quickly as possible in an effort to limit extra bases are being emphasized. “Trying to eliminate the bases so that other players can score, and working on baserunning so we can be as aggressive and steal as many bases as possible, is definitely something we work on,” Caruso said. “We also work on cut-offs a lot, getting the ball from the outfield to the infield.” Senior Lexi Vail agreed with Caruso. “We practice routine plays, and we work on hitting, as that is important offensively,” she said. Of course, what is worked on in practice could change depending on what happens in future games.
While the team is just getting started with their season, there has been no shortage of exciting and fun moments – most notably, Vail hitting a home run which won them the game against Green Farms Academy. Off the field, the team has been busy participating in team bonding activities to strengthen their chemistry, which has been pretty good this year.
Winning more games and building on the progress that has been made in the past years are some of the goals that the team has for this season. Additionally, the team hopes to represent KO in the best manner possible. “Wanting to represent what it means to be a KO athlete and good team player are important things we want to uphold this season,” Coach Bradley said.
Looking ahead, Ethel Walker and Suffield Academy will be exciting games to watch, as they are strong competitors. We wish our Wyverns the best of luck as they continue their season!
