The softball diamond is “my home,” Sophomore Hannah Mavrich said. On it, Freedom’s faithful softball team has experienced injuries and victories, but how can they be expected to do this year? “I think we’ll do well,” Freshmen Mariah Forsythe said. This is a common opinion among most of the girls. The girls’ are in a good position to succeed, with two experienced seniors, seasoned juniors, sophomores and a group of healthy young freshmen. “We’ve got a good group of girls. And I think we’re really competitive,” Junior Brooke Petcovic said. According to Head Coach Mike Braddock, a competitive nature fueled the team through three weeks of practice. Another new addition to the team was the entrance of seven new freshmen and one sophomore. “The freshmen that came up were good,” Junior Leah Moldovan said. “They’re going to do well… They’re better than I was when I was a freshman,” Senior Kelsie Ralston said. Plenty of the new players such as Sophomore Hannah Mavrich were eager to test their skills in the first game of the season on March 12. According to Maddi Lewis and Catie Bohach, softball demands not only 100 percent effort and high expectations, but also plenty of collaboration. Such collaboration must also include freshmen and their upperclassmen teammates. “[The upperclassmen] are pretty supportive and they’ll teach [the freshmen] how to do things they don’t already know how to do.” Even with their improvements however, there are some obstacles that they must still hurdle. Last year the girls were hindered because they “got nervous,” Ralston said. “We’ll be winning and then I just don’t know what happens.” Another opportunity the girls have this year is an experienced coach. Braddock coached for a long time before beginning at Freedom a year ago. “He understands what we can do and he pushes us,” Forsythe said. Last season’s statistics weren’t as desirable as the softball team would like to do, but there’s one big difference between then and now. “Our confidence,” Petcovic said. This confidence is apparent in the way the girls practice and speak. “We will have a better record than last year because we have a lot of potential,” Moldovan said.