A strong start would be an understatement when talking about the Sandies softball team.
A 23-1 start to the season and 4-0 in district plays just a taste of the talent and skill this team has. All players, including the notable junior Danae Lopez, have been lighting up scoreboards and striking fear into a reputable Palo Duro team, who recently took a 32-0 loss and let up a 3 homerun performance by senior Tatem Pendergraft. Pendergraft is not the only Sandie hitting home runs as Lopez currently holds the new school record for home runs, with more than a full season left in her bright career. The effortless performance of the overall home runs seems to come easy to the players considering Pendergraft has 13 and Lopez has 14. Lopez has become an absolute star for the Sandies and continues to show promise and success, even as she encounters stronger opponents each year.
“My personal goal for the rest of this season is to help take the team to state and break the single season homerun record,” Lopez said.
All athletes dream of winning state but the dream could easily become reality if the Sandies keep at this pace and keep playing together. The team keeps accomplishing everything and more that a veteran team filled with seniors could do to make the school proud.
“We have broken many records already and will continue to break more the rate the girls are going,” Softball coach Ty Hoobler said. “Our seniors, Tatem, Lindset, Amelia, Kylee, Bryce, and Sierra have led the way all season for this team.”
With playoffs just around the corner and district ending in just a few weeks, excitement has been building within the program to see what level of success this talented team can reach. Their success later will depend on these last few weeks before playoffs and Hoobler believes it is very important to not waste any of the extra time they have.
“We are taking each practice and game we have left as a chance to get better for playoffs,” Hoobler said. “We are hoping to be firing on all cylinders once playoffs start and make a push to the state tournament.”
