Caesar Rodney softball team wants to prove it's better than its record
CAMDEN — Caesar Rodney High’s softball players know what their record says about them.
At 9-9, the numbers say the Riders are neither good nor bad.
But that doesn’t mean …
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Caesar Rodney softball team wants to prove it's better than its record
By Andy WalterCAMDEN — Caesar Rodney High’s softball players know what their record says about them.
At 9-9, the numbers say the Riders are neither good nor bad.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t play hard every time they take the field.
“You never know coming into each game,” said CR senior shortstop Sydney Hatch. “We give it our all every time. Sometimes the score goes the way we want, sometimes it doesn’t.
“But we give it our all.”
The DIAA state tournament, however, gives the Riders another chance to show they’re the good team they believe they are.
Today, the No. 13 Riders host No. 20 St. Georges (7-10) at 4 p.m. in the tourney’s first round. Half of the 16 squads playing in today’s opening round are Downstate teams.
CR has lost three one-run contests to teams that are seeded one, four and six in the tourney. That includes a 5-4 loss to top-seeded Caravel in the Riders’ regular-season finale.
“It gives me a ton of confidence,” Hatch said about the Caravel game. “We played really well, honestly.
“There’s definitely been a few games where we were just like, we could have won that game. But we definitely played really well as a whole.”
“What’s on the board doesn’t really determine what kind of team you are,” said senior Chloe Donigan, who plays second base. “I think every day we just go out and fight and give it our all.
“It was hard but I think we played a really good game,” Donigan said about the Caravel loss. “At the end of the day, looking at the score, that’s anybody’s game. I think there was a boost in morale after that.”
Coach Skye Boris said there have been plenty of times this season when CR has held its own with good teams. Six of its nine losses have come by four runs or less.
Being under the radar in the tournament doesn’t bother Boris.
“I was just telling my assistant coach, I like being the underdog,” she said. “The pressure is not on us, it’s on everybody else to have to try to live up to their name and their seed.
“We kind of just get to sit back and do our thing.”
A year ago, the Riders also went 9-9 in the regular season and then fell to Padua, 4-0, in the state tournament. That came after they lost standout pitcher Peyton Shields to a knee injury midway through the season.
With Shields in the circle the season before, CR finished 17-3.
Last spring, freshman Montana Fox had to take over at pitcher. Now she’s one of four sophomores on a roster that only includes five seniors. There are also six juniors.
Boris said those young players make her optimistic about the future.
The Riders’ catcher, for one, thinks that Fox has done a good job in the circle so far. That’s because CR’s catcher is Madison Fox, Montana’s older sister.
“She’s really my best friend so having that connection has always been very special,” said Madison, a senior. “She was more sad on Senior Night than I was.
“She’s not the fastest pitcher but (her off-speed pitch) is really what throws people off for the most part.”
For the Riders’ seniors, today’s game will probably be their last one on their home field.
At the same time, they’re just glad they’re getting the opportunity to try to enjoy one more victory here.
“We get to see our friends and family in the stands, it’s so fun,” said Donigan. “There’s nothing like playing a home game.”
“We’ve got nothing to lose,” said Hatch.”We go into each game and we’re just excited to be here.”
Extra innings
•The seniors on Sussex Central are 8-3 in their three tournament appearances with two trips to the state finals. The Golden Knights and pitcher Madge Layfield have allowed only 21 runs this season, the lowest total in the state.
•Top-seeded Caravel (14-1) has won the last three state titles with 13 championships overall. The Buccaneers’ one setback this year was a 5-4 setback to Rising Sun, Md.
•Five of the 24 teams in this year’s tournament field have losing records. There were 24 teams in the state with .500 or better records.
•Hodgson (13-5) is averaging a state-best 11.7 runs per game.
