Coming off the past week with two losses against Thorp (0-16) and St. Croix Central (0-11), Orioles head coach Andrea Mahr shared what had gone right, what had gone wrong, and what the team needs to improve to win.
“This week the scores of the games didn’t really reflect the level of play that happened, teams just chipped away scoring a little bit at a time,” she said. “Monday against Thorp was youth night. It was a great night for softball! We were very excited to have kids of all ages join us on the field for the national anthem, build a tunnel for our athletes to go out on the field, play softball bingo, run bases, and get autographs at the end of the game.”
Saying that Thorp outplayed the Orioles on offense, Mahr said the team was both hot and cold on offense.
“Overall, Thorp outplayed us on offense,” she said. They had 11 hits to our 2. We seem to be hot and cold in that area. Thorp’s pitcher did a great job. Strike outs mean missed opportunities. We just didn’t get enough at bats to be in the game.”
As for St. Croix Central, Coach Mahr shared the following.
“We went to go play St. Croix Central on Thursday,” she said. “I was excited for this match up because I thought it would give us a better look into future playoff games and the level of competition we will face. It was a similar story to the Thorp game. We had a solid game on defense, they were just hitting gaps and we weren’t.”
Practicing hard on days off, Mahr said the team had talked about its mindset and having confidence.
“We practiced hard on our days off,” she said. “We talked a lot about our mental game and having confidence. With a young team that can be what holds you back. They are a very talented group of girls, our goal for next year is leveling up our mental game and being more consistent with our level of play!”
With the Tuesday May 21 regional against Aquinas taking place after press time, the the winner of Tuesday’s regional will advance to play the winner of the Gale-Etrick-Trempealeau vs. Durand-Arkansaw game on Thursday May 23.