Lady Warriors pick up first win of the season

WORLAND - It's been a tough season for the rebuilding Worland Lady Warriors softball team, but against Rock Springs, they finally got to put one in the win column.

On April 7, Worland split with Rock Springs, losing the first game 21-0 but winning the second game 8-5. April 8, they lost to Green River 28-1 and 20-5.

"We got our first win of the season, and the girls were so excited," said WHS softball coach Crystal Redding. "We started off shaky, but the girls came alive in the fourth inning. Rock Springs scored those early runs, but we held them after the second inning."

The Lady Warriors gave up five early runs in the second inning to Rock Springs, but they held the Lady Tigers scoreless from then on.

With their defense locking down Rock Springs, Worland's bats came alive in the fourth inning. Calista Day and Brooklyn Riley both hit doubles that scored two runs each.

"We had Calista Day hit a double and scored two RBIs, Brooklyn Riley hit a double and scored two RBIs. Cammy Russell from Lander hit a triple and got us another run, and gave us the lead. Isabella Caruso got out but scored a run for us. It was cute because Isabella has never played before, and we were excited and telling her she got an RBI, and she asked, 'What's an RBI?' We explained it to her, and she got excited she helped out the team.

"The defense held them after the second inning, which was awesome. Kelsi Smith played third for us and had two throws, back-to-back, that got us two outs. In the first game, we got in two pickles between third and home. This isn't something we've practiced yet, and we saw two of them and got the out both times. It was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time," said Redding.

The Lady Warriors were hoping to build off their win by splitting or sweeping the doubleheader against Green River the next day. Unfortunately, errors by the Lady Warriors prevented that from happening in Green River.

The Green River games served as a good teaching point for Redding. She pointed out that in their win over Rock Springs, they only committed three errors, but in the doubleheader against Green River, they committed a combined 21 errors.

Redding stressed the importance of the fundamentals to her team and talked about ways they could improve in that area of the game.

"I was hoping that win would have carried over into the Green River games, but it didn't. I have to give props to Green River and their coach. They are not the same team they were last year. They looked amazing, and they looked sharp. They were good.

"Errors hurt us in that Green River game. We had 12 in one game and nine in the other. That's what cost us those games," said Redding. "In the game, we won, we only had three. That's something we've talked about, and now we have an example with the Rock Springs win. If we limit our errors, we give ourselves a better chance at winning."

Redding continued, "We'll continue working on the fundamentals, but the girls are getting more comfortable out there. We're still a young team. When I'm calling some of my sophomores my veteran players, that shows you just how young we are. If we keep building, working hard and learning, in a few years, we'll be the dominant ones. We're rebuilding, and it's just going to take time."

The Lady Warriors have a three-game homestand this week, which started with taking on the Cody Fillies on Tuesday. Friday, they host Kelly Walsh at 3:30 and 5 p.m., and on Saturday, they take on Natrona County at 9 and 10:30 a.m.

Improving on the fundamentals in the field and at the plate are among the keys for Worland this week. Redding also wants to see her team find that balance between being aggressive but not overly aggressive.

"We'll have a lot of playing time this week. It gives us more of a chance to work on those fundamentals. I want to see the girls be more aggressive going for the ball. That's another learning thing for this group, finding that balance between being aggressive but under control," said Redding.