Most athletes know that it can make a big difference to have the home field advantage. This is something the Yutan/Mead softball team was able to accomplish this year as their season record earned them the privilege to host both sub-districts and districts. 

“It was so exciting to have been able to host,” sophomore Jancye Long said. “It was so much fun to hear that we were hosting [our opponents] knowing that we had the advantage, and hearing that everyone was going to come to the games and be lined up against the fence was just so much fun.”

This was especially meaningful for senior Rylee Kirchmann, who would be entering her final post-season.

“Hosting sub-districts and district finals was definitely a privilege and advantage because we get home field, so it’s nice to know the field,” Kirchmann said. “With this being my senior year, seeing everyone show up and support our team was very important.”

Kirchmann’s excitement carried over to her performance in the first round of sub-districts against Fairbury, where she hit a grand slam during the fourth inning.

“I remember the feeling after hitting that homerun,” Kirchmann said. “It was definitely very memorable, and I remember pointing to the student section and seeing them all go wild.”

Kirchmann finished off the game against Fairbury going two for four with the home run, four RBI and two runs.

“That was such a good feeling,” Kirchmann said. “Knowing that I made big plays for the team and played so well against them (Fairbury).”

Long also made a difference in the game against Fairbury, going one for three with a home run and two RBIs.

“It was definitely exciting being able to experience that hit and watching the ball in the air going out and also making it back home on the plate after running the bases and seeing everyone there waiting for me,” Long said.

Another key player in the Fairbury game was freshman Jersey Siske, who pitched six innings, giving up three earned runs off six hits. Siske was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going two for three. 

“Getting the opportunity to play in subs was definitely very scary at first,” Siske said. “It was fun, though. The student section was very hype, and the energy out on the field was very memorable.”

The 12-3 win against Fairbury set up the Patriots to play NEN Vipers for the sub-district final, which proved to be more difficult. 

“We had a tough bracket and a very tough target on our back. We were the seventh seed and they were the eighth seed and we lost to them,” Siske said. “But those games were definitely really tough. We had really good components and still batted.”

The Patriots fought hard, starting the sixth inning down 10-1 but scoring six runs. They couldn’t score in the seventh, which resulted in the final score being 10-7.

“We came back from being down by so many runs, and that gave us hope because we knew we could’ve won but I think we just didn’t start strong,” Kirchmann said.

While the Patriots came up short against NEN, because of their season’s powerpoints, they were given a wild card and hosting privilege for district finals against Ashland-Greenwood.

The Patriots started the first game of the district best-of-three series strong with junior Delaney Shield scoring one run in the bottom of the first inning. 

“Making that first run in the game and getting hit in by Jancye was a good memory and experience that I will remember,” Shield said.

As the game progressed, however, Ashland-Greenwood led until the bottom of the sixth inning, where the Patriots were able to tie up the score 2-2, which led to extra innings.

“That feeling after tying up the score in the sixth inning was very relieving,” Long said. “They had scored in the fourth inning and we had held them until that point, but even being able to go into extra innings with them was a good feeling.” 

Unfortunately, the Patriots were unable to hold Ashland-Greenwood in the extra inning and lost the first game 4-2. This set up the second game in the series, which they lost 10-0.

“The first game against [Ashland-Greenwood], we played really hard and it just didn’t go our way,” Shield said. “That was really upsetting, but we talked in a huddle after that and prepared for the second game. I definitely thought the second game would go better, but they just got their bats going and we just couldn’t execute on our side, and they ended up run-ruling us by 10.”

Although the season didn’t end how the Patriots had hoped, head coach Brooke Campbell was still proud of how the season went.

“I am overall happy with the season,”  Campbell said. “The girls improved every day and really pushed to be the best team they could be. They spent time outside of practices and games together making themselves better people and really learning about each other.”

These relationships formed will last beyond the season now that it’s over.

“The team has definitely been closer than the past years,” Kirchmann said. “We do things like Bible studies and go get coffee and just have lunch as a team. This has really helped our team bond and become so close.” 

However, the Patriots are still hungry for more, and Campbell is already looking forward to next season.

“Next season I hope we continue to build on what we had this year,” Campbell said. “There was tremendous growth this year from last, and I know they saw it as well. They will continue to grow from that and will have a season that they work for.”

The players are also eager to build on the successes they had this season. 

“I hope that we continue to grow more as a team.  This really helped our team this year get where we were,” Shield said. “I also hope that knowing we made it this far, we will continue to work harder next season.”