By Alexandria Webb
Grand Rapids Community College women’s softball comes back to defeat Muskegon Community College in a nail-biting double header. Both games were won with the final score of 3-2, advancing their season record to 22-7.
The games came down to the Raiders excelling under pressure, as both teams are fighting for first place within the conference.
In the first game, it came down to getting a single run within the bottom of the seventh inning. Sophomore Leftfielder Libby VanFleet waited on third base, as Freshman Shortstop Kenady O’Leary stepped up to bat.
There could have been a sense of pressure as GRCC lost to MCC in their last matchup in Sandusky, Ohio. VanFleet knew what was at stake, but instead of getting caught up with the past, she focused on the goal ahead.
“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves throughout the season already, so I was like, “Okay, it’s time to take a deep breath and then get into this…that’s kind of the mentality I’m trying to go into the rest of the season with,” VanFleet said.
With that, O’Leary cracked the ball all the way to centerfield, allowing Vanfleet the opportunity to score the game-winning run. VanFleet describes what this meant to her, and her team.
“It felt really good because we lost to them in Ohio, so it was just a good comeback for all of us, it was very uplifting for everyone,” VanFleet said.
Sophomore Pitcher Lillian Klop shared her thoughts about the close game.
“They (the games) were way too close, in my opinion,” Klop said. “We played well, we won, and that’s what matters.”
Head Coach Chuck White enjoyed the battle of the games, saying they were, “Two fun games.”
Coach knew the team would pull through, and wasn’t worried in the slightest.
“I was not nervous,” Coach said. “We pitched really well, we played great defense, and came up with the hits when we needed them.”
Learning from their mistakes in the previous loss against MCC, the Raiders channeled their energy to take home this victory.
“As a coach, you expect to beat everybody, so it was satisfying. We lost in Ohio at the bottom half of the game. We made some errors to kind of give it away, and this time, coming down to the end, we took it away…it felt good to take it back,” Coach said.
The Raiders will travel to Muskegon to play MCC on their home field on Saturday, April 11, in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
