*Written By Gabby Zeeman

Making their way to the championship game once again, the Slaters wrapped up their incredible season of 20-1 by conquering Salisbury 12-11 in the Colonial League Championship.

The Slaters found themselves with a five run deficit in the sixth inning. Soon enough, Olivia Groller led off with a triple, Ciarrah Holmqvist walked to force in a run, and both Dani Fey and Kaitlin Caleen had RBI singles. Jackie Hess added a sacrifice fly in order to tie the game 11-11.

“I think we all knew we were going to win even when we were down but when it was tied we were all positive that we would come out on top,” Hess said.

Holding the Falcon’s back, the Slaters entered the bottom of the seventh inning with the score still remaining at 11-11. Only one more run was needed in order to win the championship. With her 101^st hit of her softball career, Holmqvist had a walk-off RBI single, winning the game for the Slaters.

“It was an amazing feeling batting in the winning run. I felt a sense of accomplishment knowing I was part of a team and I was able to help in the best way I could. I did it for the team,” Holmqvist said.

Throughout their regular season, the girls have always had their mind set on getting the gold and have practiced for it constantly.

“It’s what we’ve been working for all year. We won because we didn’t give up, held the rope, and we were playing for each other, not ourselves,” Groller said. “We stay confident, but not cocky in our abilities and we play together as a team to get the results we want.”

Repetition in and out of season is what has gotten the girls to master the skills that are needed to defeat and win. Whether that be working on field work or batting, practice makes perfect.

“Our team is very strong offensively, we hit close to 200 balls during hitting practice. Because of playing with all of the girls for so long, we know we are all capable of hitting nice line drives,” Nikki Kessler said.

Although all the necessary skills may be mastered, a positive attitude and mind set are needed throughout the entire game. The Slaters wouldn’t be where they are without each other.

“We keep each other focused, upbeat, and determined. There’s not a second during any game where we are down on ourselves or each other. Our strong team chemistry allows us to have each other to pick us up and because of that we are able to win together,” Kessler said.

Looking through their season, the girls found that the semi-final game against Northwestern would be a game to remember. They had a comeback in that game as well, which pushed them to defeat and win in the championship.

Continuing through their victorious journey, the Slaters will play in the District 11 playoffs and hope to find success in many more games to come.