![At the bottom of the third inning, the Lions are still scoreless. Rowe stands at home plate, preparing to bat, while Vandenbrink stands off to the side as the next batter up. Despite having the bases loaded, the team was unable to score any runs. “It’s just the beginning of the season. We’re just going to be playing out best by June, [and] that’s where champions are,” Rowe said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_3077-1200x900.jpg)
Maintaining their second in state Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) ranking, the softball team defeated the 12th ranked Lakeridge Pacers 10—0 on April 29.
However, this wasn’t any other game for the softball team. The team held a time of recognition for those who have family and friends suffering from cancer, particularly breast cancer.
Second baseman Emery Curtis, junior, sees her sister’s boyfriend as a best friend. He was recently diagnosed with Leukemia, or blood cancer.
“Cancer is a really big part of my life right now. [The recognition before the game] was really important for me,” Curtis said. “It just shows that softball is more than just a sport and it has brought so many people to support me, it has really helped. It just shows that we care about each other more than we care about the sport. There’s always support within each other.”
To recognize what Curtis’ family is going through, the softball team gave the family flowers and hugs. Starting catcher and team captain Charlotte Brooke, senior, gave Curtis her flowers.
“When something like that happens, I feel like it just brings us all together,” Brooke said. “It makes us stronger as a team. We all know it’s a sensitive subject, but she’s just such a strong person for coming from something like that. The best we can do is just try and make them feel like they have a home and a family. That’s what our team is.”
To recognize cancer, both teams also adorned pink uniforms, and other pink accessories. Starting shortstop Rylee Guastad, senior, wore a variety of pink accessories.
“It’s just a superstition thing for everyone, so we always do [pink] eye black,” Guastad said. “I have pink KT tape and pink sliding shorts on. I’m loving our jerseys, we just got them this year.”
The softball team came into the game on a 14 game winning streak. To help secure the 15th win of the streak, Avery Wolf, freshman, pitched a shutout, allowing five hits. Guastad also got three hits, a walk, and two runs batted in (RBI).
“I think we work very well as a team and we just practice, practice, and practice,” Guastad said. “Our coaches are hot on us at practice and we run, doing all that stuff. I think keeping our momentum, [knowing] we’re a good team is definitely keeping us high.”
Except for the fourth inning, the softball team scored at least one run every inning. Kendall Atwood, sophomore, also had two hits, which resulted in two RBIs. Brooke had one RBI.
“I know there’s a lot of pressure just because we have that big streak, but I think just when we all have fun, we all have each other’s backs,” Brooke said. “It’s just making everything easier. When we have fun, we play better, we play more as a team and more as one person. If something bad happens, we just shake it off. We know we’re gonna get it back, we have a really strong lineup.”
For their next game, the softball team heads to Oregon City High School to face the Oregon City Pioneers. The Pioneers are ranked fourth in the state, according to OSAA. On April 15, the Pioneers lost to the West Linn softball team 2—0.
“[Oregon City has] been doing a lot better at hitting in their other games,” Guastad said. “I think what we have to do is just know that we’re the better team at the end of the day. We have a strong defense and we can hit [against their pitcher]. I think it’s just [about] us being confident and knowing that we work well as a team rather than separate.”
