The softball team completed its season May 11 with a disappointing 12-0 loss to top-seeded Sherwood in the second round of the playoffs.

CHS’ loss came after a surprising 6-3 win over Springbrook, in extra innings May 8 to advance to the second round of the playoffs. The win would not have been possible without the strong pitching performance of sophomore Meghan O’Lone, and the hitting of sophomore shortstop Maddie Ulanow.

The Bulldogs had only won three games leading up to the first round of the playoffs, but gained momentum by winning two of their last three. Senior leadership is something that is needed for any sports team, and they had it.

“Our two senior captains Lauren Siudzinski and Jacque Vito had really great seasons,” sophomore Meghan O’Lone said. “They encouraged us through wins and losses.”

Unfortunately, the great senior leadership was not enough to beat Sherwood, which had only lost one game all year and allowed only 1.7 runs per game this season. With Sherwood’s senior pitcher Erin McMakin on the mound, the Bulldogs had a difficult time hitting, and were held scoreless.

O’Lone started again for the Bulldogs but was no match against the mighty bats of the Sherwood team.

“I pitched the first four innings and walked maybe one or two girls and threw a lot of strikes,” O’Lone said. “However, the girls on the other team caught up with my speed and hit it really hard. One girl had a three run home run, so that [was disappointing].”
Even though the team got further than expected, first year coach James Collins felt there was a lot more his team could have done to get better.

“We could have done a better job of staying in softball shape over spring break,” Collins said. “It is hard to do, but players need to make sure they spend time [during] spring break throwing, catching and running.”

Though no team enjoys finishing a season with a shutout loss, there is still much to look forward to. The team only had two seniors, which means they will be returning seven starters from this year. The return of O’Lone and sophomore Maddie Ulanow will solidify their pitching and hitting next year.

“Because only two players are leaving, I think we will have a good season next year because we are all used to playing with each other,” O’Lone said. “It may take a while to be able to compete with the upper county teams like Sherwood and Damascus, but I think that with good coaching and lots of practice we can get to that level.”