The Lakeland Hawks softball team, unfortunately, lost their doubleheader to the Post Falls Trojans after Post Falls dominated in the first game with a score of 15-4 and a score of 19-12 in the second game on April 18. 

Lakeland seems to be struggling to match their competition due to compounded errors in their games. Despite attempting to keep their spirits high in both, the errors took a toll on the mental side. 

“We started off overconfident that we would win, and when we did not perform how we expected to, it all went downhill,” Alexis Hanna said. After realizing how far they fell behind, their mentality matched their playing, creating a slightly negative environment. 

“We really need to make every day plays,” head coach Dwayne Curry said. These mistakes determined the fate of the first game, ending with a loss. 

Lakeland struggled a lot offensively and defensively. It was difficult to adjust to the speed of the opposing team’s pitcher, which caused Lakeland to fall behind during their at-bats. The varsity team captain, Payton Sterling, had a great at-bat, hitting a home run despite her teammate’s struggles. This gave the team hope but was not enough to turn around the game for a win. 

Though the first game was rough, the second game was all around a lot better. The girls started the second game off with humbled spirits. They really took off offensively and were hitting really well; they finally got the timing of the pitcher down. Katie Dewey hit a homerun but left Peyton Sterling to lead the team as she scored three. These offensive plays really hyped up the team, which was enough to stay positive throughout the rest of the game despite some of their defensive errors. 

Lakeland held the lead for the second game up until the sixth inning when an opposing player, Peyton Loizer, hit a grand slam followed by a home run. This gave Post Falls a 5-run lead, which was hard to recover from. The next at-bat for the Hawks went quickly as the first three batters were the last three outs, hindering their chance to even out the score of 19-12.

The second game really showed what this softball team has to offer as they were able to showcase their skills despite the lead the Trojans got on them. That being said, they do still have things to work on. “We need a lot more work on the fundamentals of the game and to trust in our talent,” DC said. These are things that Lakeland will work on in preparation for their next game.