Express Softball

We had such a fun time with Hannah's softball team this year.  This is technically our first "competitive" team we've had a child on (t-ball and Shooting Stars b-ball are pretty laid back).  Hannah wasn't sure she was going to play before the season began.  She said t-ball got hot and boring, and she had to run a lot (she didn't).  But when she found out that her team this year would be all girls and lots of her friends, she quickly changed her mind.  I'm so glad she did!  

Hannah is a pretty good batter.  Her average for the year was .667, which is pretty good!  Towards the end of the season, she was hitting the ball pretty hard.  Hannah is also REALLY fast.  I'm thinking track may also be in her future.

Softball was a bit of a challenge for me personally with a nursing infant and an active toddler.  Josh helped the team, so I was on my own a lot.  We found our groove, but I was stressed out at times.  Thankfully Papa Steve was almost always there to help me with concessions, etc.

Papa Steve at her first game of the season:

A Salt Fork High School student, Chance, passed away from leukemia this summer.  He was a cousin of one of Hannah's classmates.  Both Catlin teams wore orange that week in honor of him.  This was an exciting game for us because we beat the only undefeated team in the league!  We ended up being their only loss of the year.

That was also a fun night because our friend Nathan Davenport was spending the night with us!  In just a short visit, our kids totally attached to Nathan.  They adored him, didn't want him to leave, and want to know when he's coming back!

Hannah and her friend Lily Georges:

Grandma Teresa and Papa Ed bought a case of ring pops for the season to keep the kids busy!

Jacob had a lot of fun with friends this season, especially Ross McCollom and Max & Liam Georges.

Aleah was a little social butterfly.  She would go hang out with other families all of the time.  And she even tried to get on the field a few times...

The highlight of the year was winning 3rd place in the end of the year tournament.  We lost by 1 to the 1st place team, so we played for 3rd and 4th.  This was a huge improvement from where we started at the beginning of the season.  If there was a "most improved team" award, I'm sure it would go to us.  From Hannah's coach's post, "To use the word proud is an understatement for Morgan and all the girls on the Express team but that is the only word I can think of right now. Boy, I am extremely proud. With our 11 to 10 victory tonight over Bismarck, we finished the season with a 10 and 7 record and won 3rd place in the end of the season tournament. This is after we started the season 2 and 4. Each girl made great improvements in one or more parts of the game. My goal for the girls this season was for them to be better than what they were the previous day. Girls, you all achieved that goal. Job well done. We all overcame different struggles throughout the season. I hope that the girls will always remember that sometimes you win and learn, sometimes you just learn. Fantastic job girls. There will always be a place in my heart for this team."

After the season was over, Hannah's coach hosted an end of the year party at the splash park:

Even though the season was admittedly crazy, it was so much fun, and I was actually really sad when it was over.  I hope Hannah continues to play and love softball!