The Grayslake Central softball team has plenty of time before their season is over, but it’s easy to say that throughout their season so far, they have worked hard and had lots of fun throughout their time together.

     Throughout the season there have been moments of struggle, but the team always worked together to  come back stronger. Jason Schaal, the varsity and JV softball coach, has shared his thoughts about this season and how much they’ve come together as a team. “They seem to get along well off the field, which leads to us playing better on the field.  Each game we have shown improvements, and will continue. They are such a joy to be around,” said Schaal. 

     The Grayslake Central varsity softball team traveled to Florida, throughout the week of spring break, to play some matches this season. When asked about any significant opponents, one team Schaal mentioned was Milford, a team from Ohio who is a “ very senior dominant [team] and are expecting to make a state run in Ohio.” Though it was a tough team to beat, the Rams softball team pulled through with a victory. 

     “It was an excellent game on many fronts. We made some spectacular defensive plays and then a freshman, Dani Eckenstahler, got the walk off hit in extra innings.  The team played hard the entire time, and never quit.  This was a quality win against a quality opponent…” Schaal shared. 

     It was a great learning experience for the team early in the season, but there were still moments when they tried their hardest to take the win. Schaal explained that even though there are some games where they struggled, they always do their best in every game. “In some games, we do make some mistakes that may end up costing us a victory, but we have discussed them and learned from them each time.  I cannot think of a game where we did not do well for the entirety of the game.”

     Megan Stahoviak, a senior and captain on the varsity team, has loved the 2022 season so far. She has made many memories with the other girls on the team, as well as her coaches. Stahoviak has shared how she thinks she did this season and really feels as though she improved. “This year my pitching has improved and I got reps at first base this season which gave me a lot of opportunities to develop and work harder.”

     When asked about moments of improvement throughout the season, Stahoviak had a specific game in mind. “The game that made everyone pretty disappointed was our Woodstock North game. They weren’t a very skilled team and we didn’t bring the energy and all together we made a lot of mistakes that cost us our win,” she stated. Even though this loss really disappointed the team they always had fun together during practices and games. 

     Stahoviak shared her own goals she hopes to achieve throughout her last high school softball season.“My biggest goal was to solidify my change up and make it more accurate. Also as a team captain, I wanted everyone to get along and create memories with everyone, not just their friends because the more chemistry you have as a team the stronger you are!”