Varsity softball’s season of redemption

BY OLIVIA LEWIS

For the past three years, the Cooper City High School varsity softball team has brought home the district championship trophy. Last year, the team brought home the regional championship trophy. This year, the Lady Cowboys plan to bring home the state championship trophy, which was last won in 2009.

Having an easy district, the Lady Cowboys managed to secure the district champion title, beating Nova High School with a score of 8-1. Following the district games, Cooper City advanced onto regional quarter-finals, where they played Mater Academy Charter and won 10-0. For regional semifinals, the Lady Cowboys beat Nova High School again, but with a score of 15-0 this time.

On Friday, May 11, the Lady Cowboys faced their biggest rival, St. Thomas Aquinas High School. The Raiders had managed to beat the Lady Cowboys the year prior, so Cooper City knew they had to put up their biggest fight. The game was 0-0, until Brenna Lokeinsky managed to hit a home run in the fifth inning, putting the Lady Cowboys in the lead. The Raiders scored on an error quickly after. However, Kassandra Espinosa scored the final run, making the score 2-1. Pitcher Jasmin Herrera struck out the Raiders’ batter for the last play of the game, giving the Lady Cowboys their well-deserved win.

“We haven’t won states since 2009, and this year we really have a chance.”

“This season we hope to make it to states and win,” Herrera said. “We haven’t won states since 2009, and this year we really have a chance. All of our returning players have only improved and our freshmen are all going to contribute to our team. I’m so excited to see what this season has in store [for us].”

Although the Lady Cowboys finally overpowered St. Thomas, they weren’t able to bring home the state championship trophy. For the state semi-finals, Cooper City played against Hagerty High School, losing 1-0 in the seventh and final inning. The ball was hit into the dugout by the Hagerty hitter, which resulted in a dead ball allowing the third base runner to advance to home, winning the Huskies the game.

The Lady Cowboys seem to be using their defeat as motivation for the upcoming season. The team started conditioning in late October, which consisted of running the bleachers, parachute running and weight lifting. Tryouts for both the varsity and junior varsity teams started on Tuesday, January 22, with about 40 girls coming out. At the tryouts, the girls went into stations for throwing and hitting to show the coaches their skills. For the last two days, they scrimmaged by making two teams out of the girls. The last tryout was Saturday, January 26.

“The incoming freshmen are going to fill in the holes on the team and really bring us together.”

“I definitely think the incoming freshmen are going to fill in the holes on the team and really bring us together,” Lokeinsky said.

JV will be practicing directly after school, while the varsity team will be practicing at 6 p.m. Typically, varsity practice lasts about two to three hours. Both teams practice every day of the week, except for the weekends, trying to perfect the chemistry they have on the team.

From Thursday, February 14 to Saturday, February 16, the varsity softball team will be playing their first preseason tournament at Silver Lakes. Their first actual game of the season will take place on Wednesday, February 20 against Hollywood Hills at 4 p.m. The Lady Cowboys look forward to redeeming themselves this 2019 season.

“Since this is my senior year, my biggest goal is to win the state championship,” senior Shelby Jones said. “We have been working so hard for so long and to get that ring as a team this year is my dream and it would be a perfect way to end my high school career.”

Photo by Hailey Brown