It was a long haul for those who took time out to watch the Oriole varsity softball team Saturday, with the Orioles facing off against the Stratford Tigers at Poynette High School down by Madison. Playing in back to back games at Stratford the Orioles walked off the field with disappointing losses, but also time in the season to turn things around. The first game Saturday ended with a score of 7 – 0 in Stratford’s favor, the second game 10 – 4, also in the Tiger’s favor. With an April 5 game at Neillsville postponed and the Oriole’s record currently 0 – 2 after Saturday’s games against Stratford, Coach Tyler Wagner shared some thoughts on how things had gone.

"We were excited to final ly get a game in and be able to play,” Wagner said of the games at Poynette. “We made some mistakes that will be corrected through getting more playing time in and learning from those experiences. Our pitchers worked hard throwing strikes, and our fielders will continue to back them up with their performance.”

Breaking things down by game, Wagner contrasted the two.

"In the first game against Stratford, we had good patience at the plate and made their pitcher throw strikes, and took advantage when she did, “ he said. “In the second game, we watched too many strikes go by putting ourselves behind in the count.”

The Orioles next face off against McDonnell Thursday April 14 at 5 p.m.