Winning is a common theme when it comes to Antioch Varsity softball. The team has won four consecutive regionals and does not seem to be stopping any time soon. The team has many talented individuals who know how to win and they win often. The players know that the pressure is on them to be able to perform better than they did in previous seasons. Many of the girls on the team are up for the challenge, and expect to go farther.

“I do believe that we will live up to our expectation,” senior Varsity softball player Jackalyn Geraty said. “The goal this year is to take the coach bus down to state.”

This will be Geraty’s third year on Varsity and she has been on the team for two regional championships. There are many players on the team who have been playing together for almost their whole lives. This connection can bring in a sort of trust among the players, and they know that they can rely on everyone on the team.

“No matter who is up in the order, we can count on them,” senior Varsity softball player Carlie Gaylord said. “We can also play defense very well with two great pitchers who throw with different styles of pitching.”

Gaylord has been on Varsity just as long as Geraty and has seen just as much success as the rest of the team. She too has high expectations for this season.

“I truly believe that we can make it to state this year,” Gaylord said. “We have practically the same team as last year, but now we have some key younger additions.”

The Sequoit softball team is returning the majority of their lineup from last year, and they expect to make it farther than they did in the year previous. They made it to the sectional championship before losing to a very talented Carmel team, who made it to the state semifinals before being knocked out of the tournament by the state champions, Montini.

The team does not like to think too far ahead; instead, they play with a “one game at a time” mentality.

“As long as we all keep working hard and coming together as a team I believe we have a great chance to beat any team that we will face,” Geraty said. “The majority of our team has played softball for as long as we can remember, and that muscle memory of the game is definitely an edge that not every team has.”

The family mentality that the softball team has is one of the many advantages that they will have over most opponents. Also, the fact that most of the Sequoit softball players have been playing the sport for their entire lives is another key advantage over almost anybody in the state.

“On one of the hottest days of the years, we came together as a team and pulled through in the end to win a fourth consecutive regional championship,” Gaylord said. “One of the best parts from that day may have been after the game. We stopped at Portillo’s and coach Rocco bought the team food.”

The girls from last year have great memories from the regional championship game. By the end of this season, the girls hope to have just as many memories and have high hopes to bring out the coach bus at the end of the year. In the end, only one thing is on the girls’ minds: to continue the legacy of Sequoit softball.