This year, Bri is playing in her 7th season of softball. While COVID took softball out of Bri, this year has proven that you can't take Bri totally out of softball. Now, while she will not admit she likes the sport, she has said she might be willing to play in the future.
The reason - besides some great coaches over the years, she has fallen in love with being a catcher.
And tonight showed that her love for catching is paying off. After having her best softball game ever two games ago (she missed the last one for a recital), she played in her new best softball game earlier tonight for the Dukes.
First, she went 2-3 including a key hit against a tough pitcher. She also almost had a 3rd hit earlier in the night, but it went foul. Then, she swiped two bases as well. Overall, a pretty great night for her at the plate.
But it was behind the plate that Bri really stood out. She played four innings behind their (3rd - 7th in extra innings). She was fairly strong, catching some fast pitchers while holding her own preventing passed balls. She also made three attempts to throw a runner out on the base paths. One was very close!
However, she had three super strong plays that really stood out. First, after barely missing a ball popped up behind plate, she caught one later in the game which eventually prevented a run from scoring. Also, after letting a ball get passed her, she pounced on it and threw to the pitcher covering the plate, getting a girl trying to come home from 3rd out. And, with bases loaded, a girl swung and had the ball go straight down in front of the plate. Bri was heady, grabbed the ball, and tagged the plate before the girl could score.
Any one of those plays would have been impressive. But, those three helped earn her the game ball tonight.