The softball season is underway. The Salt River High School Lady Eagles softball team played their second game against Thunderbird Adventist Academy on Thursday, March 5. The Lady Eagles put up a battle with Thunderbird and lost by two runs in a close game, with the final score of 12-10. 

The Lady Eagles are 1-1 and have eight games left in the 2020 season. 

“We only have 10 players this season,” said coach Robert Villegas. “They work hard. I have a core of 10 players and they show up regularly. I am a strict coach, and they can tell you I push them to work hard.”

Coach Villegas expects the team to post a win-loss record better than 50/50 this season.

“I have a good core and I believe we we’re going to give it a run for the playoffs,” said Villegas. “We fell one game short making it to the championships last year, but we won our division last year. We should be fine. I have a good feeling about them.”

Team captain McKayla Moses hopes to get to the playoffs and take the championship title, as this is her final year at Salt River High School. 

“We’ve been playing with each other for a few years, and I think that we can take the championship this year,” said Moses. 

Eighth-grade catcher Hayden Hogue, a third-year player, fires up the team during games by shouting from home plate to the outfield, asking her teammates where their positions are, and from the dugout, encouraging her teammates as they come up to bat. 

“It’s my job,” said Hogue. 

The Lady Eagles’ next home game will be on Thursday, March 19, at 4:30 p.m. (see sidebar for remaining season schedule).