The Okawville Junior High softball started this year’s season on August 8, 2023. This year’s roster has four 8th graders and eight 7th graders. The 8th-grade players include Jaycie Buss, Sophia Going, Annabelle Herzig, and Ellyson Hesker. The 7th graders are Olivia Bergmann, Emmerson Hasheider, Brooklyn Meier, Josephine Schmersahl, Ashlyn Steinkamp, Delaney Viehl, Lydia Waltrip, and Skylar Wilfong. 7th grader, Payten Harris suffered an injury before the season started and isn’t able to play this year.
The Jr. Lady Rockets started this year’s season with a bang beating Coulterville 5-1, on August 8. Ellyson Hesker pitched a great game as she pitched five out of the seven innings, striking out four batters. Jaycie Buss led the team in hits batting 3 for 3 at the plate and right behind her was Sophia Going with one hit and one RBI. Sadly, next game the Jr. Lady Rockets fell short losing to Freeburg 9-6. They put up a fight throughout the whole game, keeping everyone on their toes. Their next game was against Wesclin where they had an outstanding win of 16-6. In the next game, the Jr. Lady Rockets played Waltonville and were able to win 14-1. The following game they faced Mascoutah Junior High and put up their best effort but lost 11-0.
I interviewed two 8th graders on the team, first Sophia Going. She stated, “I believe our season is going well, and even though we have lost some games we have learned from the mistakes we made.”
The next person interviewed was Jaycie Buss; I asked her what she thought were the team’s strengths. She stated, “Our defense is strong, and we make a lot of the plays that help us to get the wins we need.” Interviewing these two young players has shown me that this year’s team has what it takes for a winning season.
