Although almost the entire starting varsity softball team was gone during its game May 4 against Richfield, coach Bobby Crumpton said the younger players stepped up to the plate.

“That (roster) was half the freshmen and JV teams, four of five seniors and the one junior (on our team) went to Prom, so the team got beat, but I saw great things from the young girls that were developing,” Crumpton said.

Sophomore Selee Olmen said despite being a new set of girls, they could have improved on being consistent with catches and grounders.

“The team could improve in communication and making sure we reach for every ball so that it doesn’t go through our gaps and working on not letting (balls) go through,” Olmen said.

Freshman Ayelet Prottas said the team has been practicing a variety of plays to prepare for what would occur in a game.

“If we don’t have games, we have practices on our off days, and we run different scenarios and plays to make sure we’re prepared for anything that will happen on the field during a game,” Prottas said.

Olmen said they had a day off of practice to help them develop as a team, mentally.

“One day we had a training workshop, we prepared for games and having the right mindset,” Olmen said. We focused on making sure we didn’t get down on ourselves in the middle of our game.”

Crumpton said the team showcased incredible skills during the game, but there is still a lot of work to do.

“We did good on bunting and stealing, but we’ve got a billion things to improve on,” Crumpton said. “I mean (we) win that game if the third baseman doesn’t make that error (of missing the grounder) in the last inning.”

Park’s next game is against Richfield for the third time this season 4:30 p.m. May 6 at Richfield Middle School.