The softball team lost 30-0 in its season opener against Burroughs High School Thursday at home. Shoshie Bernstein ’22 said sees the loss as a catalyst within the team to get better.

“The game yesterday was definitely a challenge, but it was honestly so amazing to see everyone working really hard and trying their best,” Bernstein said. “Rather, after the game I felt a sense of eagerness from my team to improve and work even harder because we can only get better from here.”

Bernstein said that she attributes some of the team’s early difficulties to having a relatively young team after losing a large portion of its players in last year’s seniors and because the team has a new Softball Program Head, Leesa Harris, who joined the school in October 2020. 

“[Head Coach Leesa Harris] sees the potential in our team and is working so hard to make it the best we can be,” Bernstein said. “We have some players who have been playing for years, and even more who are relatively new or brand-new to the sport, but it has been truly inspiring to see how much improvement there has been in the few months we have been practicing together this year.”

The team’s loss marks its first competitive match in more than a year due to the cancellation of the rest of its 2020 season and slight postponement of this year’s season due to COVID-19. Despite an unsuccessful start to their season, Bernstein said she appreciates being able to play as a team at all.

“I know that we are only going to improve from here, and I am so insanely excited to see how much we grow as a team,” Bernstein said. “Because we have no seniors this year, we won’t have to say goodbye to any players, but we will gain new freshmen and all of our players who are new this year will have an extra year of experience under their belt.”

The squad looks to improve its record in its upcoming game against Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy on April 14.