The Manhattan High softball took on and beat Great Bend and McPherson in Great Bend on Tuesday, winning both games, 17-3 and 4-3 respectively.

Last year, the girls played both of these teams and won, therefore this year they felt very confident going into the two games. The team had to battle the 40-45 mph winds during the first game against Great Bend, but luckily had the weather on their side during the second game. 

“Tuesday we felt really good. The first game we went into that game really confident, the second game was really good,” center fielder Takara Kolterman,junior, said. “We battled them really well, we fought harder than them and we wanted it more than them so we came back and beat them in the end.” 

Everyone came together and played their best, all around there were good plays and strong connections. 

“We hit the ball well, played good defense. [The girls] are coming together and finding themselves as a team,” head coach Connie Miller said. “We really rallied and got a lot of energy going, which helped us to finish the second game and come out with a win.”

Three days later the team took on Seaman for their first home game of the 2022 season. The last time they played this team MHS got run-ruled in the first game and lost by 1 point in the second. Going into this year’s game the team was hopeful but realistic. Seaman beat them 3-2 in the first game and 5-8 in the second game of the night. While they suffered the loss, the team had strong plays and good dynamic as a team. 

“We tried our hardest and fought really hard no matter what the score on the board was. We still had energy and kept it going,” Kolterman said. “Our team has the best dynamic that I’ve ever played with, I’ve never been on a team that is this close, we all genuinely love each other, respect each other and care for each other.”

During the second game sophomore Jayden McGee and junior Avery Halfiger had back to back home runs, with McGee getting a two-run homer.

 “[The home run] felt awesome,” McGee said. “It went straight off the bat and I knew right away.”

Throughout the doubleheader the girls maintained good team dynamics and had strong skills that helped them fight the whole time. 

 “We knew that we had the ability to play with them, it was just a matter of if we could string hits together and hit the ball where they weren’t,” Miller said. “I think we played well, we communicated well, we had some really good defensive plays.”

The team will take on Topeka High on Monday.