After a challenging start to the season, the softball team has begun to find its rhythm—leaning on resilience, trust and a growing sense of unity that players say has made all the difference.
“Our team’s dynamic is very special,” Anistyn Marcotte, a right-hand pitcher, said. “Outside of softball, all of us get along so well, and we are truly lucky to have a team to have that. It took us a little bit, but I think we’re really starting to figure out our strengths and weaknesses and learning how to really work as a team and still build trust between each other.”
That sense of connection didn’t come without adversity. The softball team had a rough start to the season. The weekend of Friday, Feb. 6, the Grizzlies lost to Paris, Trinity Valley and Seminole State.
“(The losses) helped me to reflect on not just myself but our team as a whole and start truly playing for each one of the girls on the team,” Ellie Randall, a pitcher and marketing major, said.
Instead of letting early setbacks define them, players said the losses became a turning point, shifting their focus from individual performance to collective effort. That mindset has helped the team respond differently when facing challenges on the field.
For Emillee Stofferahn, a third baseman and right-hand pitcher, she struggled when the softball team lost a game.
“Personally, I take a loss very seriously and take it to heart, because losing for me it’s terrible,” Stofferahn said. “The team bounces back pretty well after losing now. And we make sure we pick each other up.”
Tatum Steiner, a catcher and first baseman, said the team is quite close, so it did take some time to find their groove as they approached upcoming games following these losses.
“It took a lot of time and extra effort to learn and grow in the right direction,” Steiner said. “I remember we had to have multiple meetings and conversations to discuss our “purpose” as a team. After a while, we figured out that we play better when playing for the person next to us.”
That ability to bounce back has led to some standout moments as the season has progressed, which reflect both perseverance and growth.
Photos by Grizzly Athletics
“My favorite memory was getting into (a) pitch hit during Barton and hitting a three run homerun that tied us up, and we ended up winning the game,” Tatum Steiner, a social work major, said.
For Kyplee Jacobson, a catcher and first baseman, one recent game stands out as a defining highlight of the season.
“(My favorite memory is) winning the recent game versus Hutch in a hard fought 10 inning battle,” Jacobson said.
From early struggles to hard-fought victories, the team’s season has become a story of growth, grit and connection, one shaped as much by their bond off the field as their performance on it.