“If you beat Wilcox, I’ll shave my head,” three-year varsity softball co-coach Dave Jost said. It’s that kind of encouragement the players need from their coaches to get them out of their current rut.

The varsity softball team (5-7) started their season red-hot, winning their first three games, but has since dropped the last majority of the games. However, the team is confident they will bounce back in the near future.

According to sophomore Brooke Binkley, it’s those hard games that are making the team improve game-by-game. “We’re definitely seeing improvement as the season continues,” Binkley said.

Other Titans agree, and have high hopes for the remainder of the season. “I’ve been on the team since my freshman year,” senior pitcher Elizabeth Rea said. “This year may not be our strongest year out of my four seasons at Gunn, but I think we can work through the tough moments and finish successfully.”

Last year, the Titan’s softball program graduated four seniors, all of whom played significant roles on the team. “It was hard to feel the effect of those girls graduating; we had a lot of shoes to fill.” Binkley said. However, the Lady Titans are finding ways to fill those shoes and grow. “We have a lot of girls stepping up, playing different positions than in the past,” Rea said.

One of those girls is junior Rachael Fleischmann, who helped the team by switching from outfield to catcher to replace graduated catcher Crystal Greenburg. According to Fleischmann, she now plays catcher because she enjoys it and feels that it is her responsibility to help out the team.

The Titans are led by many returning players, all of whom are either seniors or sophomores, “We had a lot of freshmen and junior girls move up this year,” Fleischmann said. “A lot of us have never played together, and once we get used to it, our team chemistry will really start to improve.”

The Lady Titans say they seek much of their pride and encouragement from their coaches. “We love our coaches, they’re genuinely nice and care about each and every one of us.” Rea said.

Fleischmann agrees and says that they provide the team with the skills and motivation the team needs to improve. “We dropped a lot of tough games early in the season,” Jost said. “However, with just a few big wins we’ll be back [in competition] for the rest of the season.”

As for goals for the remainder of the season, Rea says she hopes that the team will become more confident and be able to overcome errors without letting them determine the game.

Binkley agrees with Rea and adds that they hope to avenge their 1-12 loss to Palo Alto High School (Paly) and defeat thier cross-town rival at home next tuesday April 29. “As for goals for the rest of the season, we of course want to beat Paly,” Binkley said. “Oh, and having Coach Jost bald wouldn’t be too bad either.”