MSJ Softball fights through final home game

By Staff Writers Abigaile Lei & Varun Madhavan

MSJ Varsity Girls Softball played their penultimate home game of the season against the John F. Kennedy High School Titans on May 6, ending with a 1-12 losing score. Although MSJ didn’t win, the game was interspersed with creative plays from MSJ players. Their season currently continues now with a 2-10 total win-loss record. 

While MSJ Varsity Softball is tied for eighth place out of a total of nine teams, Kennedy Varsity Girls Softball is situated at third place in the league. Heading into the game, MSJ Softball Head Coach Joe Iwamiya and Senior Captains Anjali Singh and Hailey Pan knew that the match would be difficult. To prepare for the game, the team primarily focused on working with the bat at the batting cages, in hopes of improving their performance against Kennedy. Unfortunately, many Varsity players had to sit the game out, due to their upcoming AP tests. “Working through the academic challenges this time of the year was a difficult obstacle to overcome,” Iwamiya said. As a solution, Iwamiya moved many girls from the Junior Varsity team to play in this game.

The game started off strongly in favor of Kennedy, securing four runs and a steep lead that would carry through for the rest of the match. Fumbling many outfield catches, MSJ struggled in the first and second inning. “Players didn’t really think about what would happen before the play, or where the ball had to go,” Iwamiya said. Scoring their first point in the third inning where Singh hit a run, the team was determined to put up a fight against Kennedy, despite the odds. “That was a turning point, [when] we scored our first run … that gave us a little hope,” Singh said.

Although the run scored by Singh was the only point made throughout the match, the players persevered with their performance in the final moments of a game. “I have to give Hailey Pan credit for hanging in there,” Iwamiya said, “[Pan] and Anjali really had a lot of nice plays throughout this game.” With Singh tagging a runner out going to second base, Sophomore Vannessa Zamora skillfully making a running catch, and Pan and Junior Neha Okhade executing excellent pitches from the pitcher’s base, the Warriors showed their effort and persistent spirit on the field  — fighting against the steep lead from Kennedy.

Acknowledging their unlikelihood of making it to the NCS Championships, MSJ Varsity Girls Softball keeps their goals humble. “We’d like to win senior night, our last game of the season, and to have a good one,” Pan said. “In the end, it’s the journey and the memories we made.”