Verrado softball had their opening week the week of February 25th through March 2nd. The team has been preparing for games to start since tryouts on February 5th. The varsity team played a scrimmage early on in the season against Shadow Ridge on February 16th, and have been practicing Monday through Friday every week.
The girls won the scrimmage against Shadow Ridge 8-1. During opening week, the Vipers played a total of eight games. On February 27th, the team played their first game at Apollo High School, and started the season off with a 20-4 win. On Wednesday, February 28th, the softball team had their home opener against Sunrise Mountain, which they won 10-0. The Verrado softball team has had a really good start to the season, and they expect to win more games moving on.
Talking about opening week, freshman pitcher Taryn Winberg states, “I was really excited to get to play, and it was good to learn how we play together as a team. Everyone got a chance to play and get some good varsity level game experience.”
After the game on Wednesday, the varsity team traveled to Laughlin, Nevada to play in the Dave Kops Tournament of Champions Invitational. The tournament took place from February 29th until March 2nd. The Vipers started their first game of the tournament with a win against the Aztec Tigers from New Mexico. The rest of the tournament, the Vipers played some of the top teams in California, and lost in some close games. The competition was really good, and gave the Verrado girls some good experience to prepare for the rest of the season. The softball team headed home after the games on March 2nd, and started practice back up again on Monday, March 4th.
Senior pitcher Abbey Feld says, “The tournament in Bullhead City this weekend was very beneficial to the team. Not only did we have the opportunity to play challenging competition, but we were also able to make stronger connections with each other. We were able to bond and get to know each other in a way we haven’t been able to before.”
The softball team headed home after the games on March 2nd, and started practice back up again on Monday, March 4th.
“I think that the tournament prepared us for when we play some of the better teams in our district, especially our rival games,” said junior outfielder Kylie Bates. “I think it gave us a good learning experience along with a confidence boost, because now we know that we can hang with the bigger teams.”
Abbey Feld also reflects on the competition stating, “While we were in Nevada we also got to play some of the best high school teams from California. Seeing this challenging competition helped the team learn our strengths and weaknesses which gave us the opportunity to build off of that. Overall the weekend had a really positive impact on our team and has prepared us to do great in this year’s season.”
Bouncing back from the weekend, the Vipers beat Youngker 19-0 at home, and will finish out the week playing Cactus Shadows at home, and Horizon away. They also have a few games over spring break, including playing Canyon View at home at 3:45pm on March 11th, and a tournament from March 14th through March 16th. The Vipers will be playing in the West Valley Softball Invitational hosted by Tolleson High School. With Verrado being one of the host sights, the Vipers will have two home pool play games on March 14th, and two home games on March 15th. Saturday, March 16th, will start bracket play of the tournament, and it is TBD what sight the Vipers will be playing at.