On Tuesday, May 20, softball ended their season in a game against Bishop Waterson in the OHSAA district tournament. The girls finished second in the Kenton Trail division of the CBC, falling only to Kenton Ridge, who finished the season undefeated. They ended their season 15-12, showing major improvement throughout the later parts of the season.

Six players received all conference honors, including seniors Anna Engle, Riley Magginis, and Natalie Neumeier on first team; junior Maggie McCoy on second team; sophomore Lucy Boyd on special mention and senior Katelyn Rihl received the sportsmanship award.

Magginis also was Jonathan Alder’s athlete of the month for April.

As freshman pitcher Taryn Miller points out, Alder softball has had to face tough competition throughout the season, especially compared to the competition that Miller was used to.  

“It was a big change because I’ve been pitching a lot more than I have ever in my life,” says Miller, “and you’re playing against really hard teams, like D1 pitchers.”

Junior Maggie McCoy, who is both a catcher and an outfielder, has noticed an improvement both individually and as a team. 

“I think throughout the season we really improved together as a whole and played as a team not just individually,” says McCoy. “If the program continues to strive for success and build each other up we will do great things.

The girls’ record reflects this improvement. In the later half of their season, they won 64% of their games, compared to 46% in the earlier half.

Overall, the future of Alder softball looks bright, and the team is very close knit.

“[The team] is like a second family and support system,” says McCoy.