The softball program honored their senior players with a senior night game on April 8, where the varsity team took on Incarnate Word Academy.
“I felt pretty nervous, because there’s a lot of family around,” senior Fatima Garcia said. “But I was very excited to play and to get a win.”
The Golden Eagles trailed the Falcons throughout the game, putting up as many runs as they could, but they fell short in the end, 18-6.
“Towards the end, we kind of fought back, scored some points and even though we didn’t win, we still put up a good fight,” senior Elecia Johnson said.
Family, friends and teammates joined together post game to celebrate with the seniors during the recognition ceremony, bringing both gifts and love.
“It felt amazing, I feel I really saw the gravity of me being a senior. It was a bittersweet moment,” senior Lourdes Solano said. “Seeing how many of my teammates wanted to hug me, take a picture and tell me how much they loved and appreciated me made me feel so happy.”
Senior night was an indicator that the seniors’ time in softball was shortly coming to an end.
“I’m going to miss my teammates a lot, I got to know each of them very well and the friendships we hold are incredible,” Garcia said. “I’ll also miss playing in general, it became an important part of my life.”
Both Johnson and Solano grew up having an interest in softball, while Garcia started her softball career in high school. The three players spent the entire four years playing the sport and feel that they grew as a person with their experiences.
“I think it really did make me mature, in a sense, because since last year, I’ve been considered a captain,” Solano said. “The JV girls, even if they don’t frequently talk to me, they still feel they could come find me and ask me if they need help with something. I feel it helped me get that sense of responsibility.”
The experiences the seniors had from playing softball was more than just playing a game with each other. Rather, they believed it was an experience to gain life lessons from with the help from their head coach, Gerard Lewis.
“I learned a lot from him, honestly. Number one thing, never give up,” Garcia said. “Always put your best into everything, every play, every practice. And honestly, just have fun throughout the whole game.”
