HHS Softball Ended 3rd in Evergreen League

The Hayfork High Schools softball team had a rough season but they still kept up the good spirits and attitude.

The softball girls were very excited to have Jamie Curry as the coach for the first year. “My first year as head coach will be an experience I will never forget!” Curry said. “I believe I learned just as much, if not more than the players this season.” This was not Curry’s first experience with coaching. She was the swim team coach and she has also assisted Randy Harrison with the high school softball team in the past.

On March 10, the Hayfork softball team had their first game at Trinity High. Although they lost the double header, they had fun and played hard. In the first inning of the first game, senior Alexis Smith struck out three people which were the three outs of the inning. In the third inning of the second game against Trinity, Hayfork was able to get its first out with the batter hitting it straight to Smith, the pitcher, while she threw it to first base, Arabella Carini, sophomore, getting the batter out. The final score for the first game was 0-16 (Trinity) and the final score for the second game was 2-19 (Trinity).

The softball team had another away game on March 17 in Burney. This double header was tough for the team because they played against a bigger school, but it was good practice and they made some great plays. To start this game off, the first batter from Burney tried stealing third base but catcher, Trinity Foster, senior, got the ball and threw it to third baseman, Alissa Canavesio, sophomore, getting the batter out. Jacey Pickett, sophomore, got a nice hit into center field and made it to first base. Shortstop, Madison Balbini, senior, got an out at second with the help of sophomore, Lila Bonfoey, to end that inning. The final score for the first game was 0-29 (Burney) and the final score for the second game was 8-35 (Burney).

On April 7, Loyalton traveled to Hayfork for a double header. Loyalton was a very competitive team. In the second inning of the first game, with Loyalton up to bat, the third batter hit the ball to left field. Katie Foster, freshman, caught the pop fly which was the first out of the inning. In the fifth inning of the first game, the second batter from Loyalton hit the ball to shortstop, Balbini. Balbini then threw it to Pickett at first base to get the batter out. The final score for the first game was 1-17 (Loyalton) and the final score for the second game was 5-24 (Loyalton).

Happy Camp traveled to Hayfork on April 27. The Jacks fought hard against the Indians. The first game ended with the score of 10-21 (Happy Camp) and the second game ended at 12-28 (Happy Camp). This was one of the strongest games for the Timberjacks this season. In the first inning of the game, the softball girls immediately got two outs. The first batter from Happy Camp hit a pop fly to first base, Pickett. Pickett caught the pop fly and got the batter out which was the first out of the inning. In another inning, Smith struck out two batters. In the second inning, there was a pop fly to the pitcher, who was Canavesio at the time. After that, Canavesio struck out two people ending that inning.

The last double header of the season was on May 11 against Princeton who traveled to Hayfork. These two games were definitely a highlight of the girls softball experience for the year of 2022. Besides a forfeit win, this double header was the first two wins of the season for the Timberjack softball girls. The first game ended with the score of 29-19 (Princeton). In the first inning, we started off the game with seven run-ins with Princeton only scoring four. The first out of this inning was the first batter of the game, when the batter hit the ball to shortstop Balbini and she threw it to first base Pickett and they got their first out. In the second inning, Hayfork's fielding was so strong that Princeton didn't score at all. In the second game against Princeton, Hayfork won 19-9. In the first inning, both teams scored twice with the score being 2-2 at the end of the first inning. Canavesio started off this game with persistence by striking out three people. The girls played amazing in these games and much progress was shown all throughout the season.