By Carter Sampson

The Lady Knights have truly elevated their game in the season’s final stretch. After a difficult start to their schedule, our softball team went 3-2 to close out the year, including decisive victories as well as nail-biters.

Certainly one of the most exciting games was the team’s 23-22 victory over Coronado High School (if you don’t know, that is a crazy score for a softball game). Both teams played very hard, with Suz DeFusco making a great catch in the outfield and Alexis Massie almost hitting a single, double, and triple. In the last inning, however, the Lady Knights were down 22-17 with two outs. Unfazed, they rallied and pulled out a stunning victory, capped by Celeste Muniz’s three-run homer.

Head Coach Waddell wrote about this game on the team’s website: “Wow is the first and only word one can say for this game. Both teams scored runs in bunches on hit after hit. Overall a great game by both teams.”

Celeste said, “It was definitely a highlight of our season. We were able to put it together and pull out the win as a team and it was an exciting end to the season.”

Much of the team’s improvement this year took place in the underclassmen. Players new to the game learned about the sport, and set themselves up to be stars next season. The Coronado game showed them what they can look forward to if they continue the hard work. TPA is excited to watch star Freshman Alexis Massie continue to play well. This year she led the team in home runs, average, and runs. We are sure to see her and fellow Freshman Pitcher Lynn Fischer lead the team in years to come.

It has been a great final season for the team’s awesome seniors: Celeste Muniz, Clare Waddell,

and Cat Coriell. The team had fun, and success, while making huge strides as a unit. Maria Zello says of the seniors, “They were the best group of people. Each one of them took time to help us individually, and they were so patient with us.”

We look forward to next season as the underclassmen take over. Thank you Lady Knights for representing TPA, and thank you for a special season!