As fall begins, softball season wraps up, and elimination rounds for the state championship occur. The Lady Chiefs softball team made it to the region tournament but were eliminated on October 7.

The softball team finished the season ranked sixth in their region. Sophomore Emily Blum, who played catcher and centerfield, said, “The team has played surprisingly well for being so young.” The team finished the season with a record of six and six. The varsity team consists of one senior, Melanie Garlock, three juniors including Nik Bauer, who is out with a torn ACL, six sophomores and four freshman. The starting line-up includes freshman Jamie Carney at second base, sophomore Jordan Roy on third base, freshman Hayley Gill as the pitcher and the catcher, junior Maggie Marrow on first base, sophomore DeLayne Rotolo as pitcher or catcher, junior Jordan Crutchfield at shortstop, senior Melanie Garlock in left field, sophomore Samantha Coffey in center field, and sophomore Andie Hume in right field. Sophomore Emily Blum, sophomore Hannah Gillespie, freshman Meagan McCamphill and freshman Jessica Maier are substitutes for the starting line-up.

When asked about the softball team’s top player, sophomore Emily Blum said, “We all play together and help each other, so there isn’t really a top player; however, our captain [Melanie Garlock] is amazing. She always keeps our spirits up and knows exactly what to say.” The Lady Chiefs started the season ranked 244 in the state.They finished the season ranked 241. In regional standings, the Lady Chiefs finished their season ranked 48. The captain, Melanie Garlock said, “I watched the girls pick each other up when mistakes were made and come together as a unified team. With a large group of girls it is easy for personalities to clash, but the dynamic of the team this season was special. Even with some differences, at the end of the day, we all knew that we would do anything for each other. The team became more than just teammates, but instead a family.” When asked about the team’s season performance, Melanie said, “I will never see this season as unsuccessful. For me success is not measured by the wins or losses, but instead the overall growth as a team. I wish the girls the best of luck in all their future plans.”

Recently, the softball team participated in the regional tournament on October 6. Sophomore Emily Blum said, “We had two games . . . for the region tournament, and we won against Stockbridge but lost to Ola but we put up a fight.” In the game against Stockbridge High School, the Lady Chiefs won 8-7. According to Maxpreps.com, Stockbridge’s softball team is ranked 10 spots higher than the Lady Chiefs. The final score of the game at Ola was 8-1. According to Maxpreps.com, Ola High School was undefeated at home and ranked ninth in the state at the time. When asked about the team’s individual performance during the game against Ola, Emily said, “Our shortstop [Jordan Crutchfield] caught every line drive and fielded every ground ball that came to her and helped bring in our only runner to score a point.”

They lost their final game to Luella High School. The final score of the game was 6-3. After beating McIntosh, Luella jumped four places to pass McIntosh to become one place ranking higher than the Lady Chiefs. Now that they are eliminated from the tournament, and their season is over.

*We apologize for the misspelling in the October issue of the McIntosh Trail. This version has the name spelled correctly.*