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The Waterloo Jr High Lady Bulldogs Softball team is off to a fast start this fall. Coached by Sarah Renner, who is in her fourth Year as Jr High Softball Coach, the Lady Bulldogs currently boast an 8-3 record. With a few breaks here or there they could have been 11-0 since the margin of victory in those losses was so close. Exemplified by their 3-2 loss to Highland in extra innings, the Lady Bulldogs have exhibited a tenacity and intensity needed to be successful when playoffs come around.
After a 15-0 win over the Lady Tigers of Dupo, I asked Coach Renner what pleased her most about her team right now. She responded, “I’m definitely happy with our hitting right now. Early in the season we were taking a lot of pitches. I’ve been telling them to be aggressive at the plate and get their cuts in. And they’re doing that.”
Even though the Lady Bulldogs are playing well, Coach Renner believes they need to improve in other areas. “What we need to work on right now is our base running. We’re pushing and being aggressive but we’re not always smart. So we’ve been making some silly outs.”
Pitching for the Lady Bulldogs has been solid this year. They have two pitchers this year, an eighth grader and a seventh grader. The eighth grader gets most of the work but the seventh grade pitcher is very good as well, evidenced by the shutout against Dupo.
One of the intangibles that Coach Renner has been working on with the girls is interpersonal communication. Coach Renner said, “We’ve been working a lot on communication on the field and in the dugout. I’ve encouraged them to be positive with one another. Encourage each other on the field. Even in practice we’re really stressing the use of positive, encouraging words to one another. My hope is that it helps to bring us together as a team.”
I asked Coach Renner how she prepares the girls not only for the softball season but for play at the High School level. She responded, “A lot of what I expect they already know. They come in and they know the drills and they know what we’re doing and what we’re about. I wouldn’t ask anything different from them here in Jr High than I would at the High School level. So hopefully we’ve done a good job of preparing them for the game at the High School level.”
Two games loom large for the Lady Bulldogs next week. They’ll be rekindling the old rivalry fires of the Cahokia Conference with contests at Freeburg on Monday, August 31st and at Columbia on Wednesday, September 2nd. Both promise to be exciting contests.
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