The 2022 softball season didn't end the way Franklin wanted. The team nor the community. Let's focus on the positives. This is a really good softball team with: a pitcher on the precipice of being one of the best; a solid interior that can field nearly any ball, assess the situation in the blink of an eye and, most of the time, make good throws; a strong first four batters; pretty good middle of the line up hitters and a tail that has started it's fair share of rallies all season; they are scrappy and support each other; they don't seem to get down for too long before they pull themselves together; they seem to love the game of softball; and.... these are good kids. |
Hoobler said losing Atwell, his team's captain, created a difficult hole to fill. "She's a coaches dream. In the dugout she was always that calm voice, that steady influence to tell the girls 'we got this.' She's my rock." He also credited her with her leadership in work ethic. "She worked and worked and worked on her craft," he said.
"A coach only has two timeouts before he has to change his pitcher," Hoobler emphasized how much he relies on Hicks. "Catching is a tough position, she gets beat up back there but she is not afraid. She is my warrior back there."
That's not to put blame on anyone else, part of the game is being able to field the ball cleanly and throw accurately. Edge's pitching often would put the ball in play to be fielded. Hoobler said that sometimes the breaks just didn't go their way.
Sydni Hoobler is one of the best lead off batters and leads the state in stolen bases. Her play at shortstop is solid and she is definitely the infield general who often visits the pitcher herself to help Edge stay focussed. At the end of the year, after they were eliminated in the state playoffs Hoobler asked an important question. ' Did you give everything you had?'" They all answered "yes." said Hoobler "That's all I can ask for." |