Friday, March 3rd, Lady Chaparrals Softball participated in the third annual N4C Jamboree. Upon arriving to the stadium, the dome leaves no great first impressions. However, a book should never be judged by its cover.

Like passing through an entry way into Narnia,  a roar of cheering that slaps you in the face. Both team and parents’ cheers travel very far because of the acoustics of the dome.

Amongst the cheerers is second baseman Rachel Martin’s dad, Paul Martin, admiring how talented his daughter is. “I am just so proud of her. She never stops working. Rachel is where she is because of her hard work and dedication. For that I am extremely proud of her.” Touching words for anyone to hear. Especially facing off against Madison College, MATC-Milwaukee, and Triton College a tough lineup for any team to face.

However, there is no challenge that can’t be met with the right training and support. The Lady Chaps held their own, beating Madison College 6-2 and utterly demolishing MATC-Milwaukee 18-0.

The greater challenge came while facing heavy hitters, Triton College, for their third and final game of the day(@8pm). For those students who missed out on the epic cataclysmic match against Triton, you missed the equivalent of a shooting star.

With the Lady Chaps barely pulling ahead in the early innings thanks, in part, to the batting expertise of center outfielder, Marjorie Sloan, hitting second in the batting rotation. Even after being struck out by pitcher Aubrey Paluszek, Triton College was not anywhere near finished. The tension in the air was palpable. And, after losing All-American Rachel Martin with an injury in the second inning, the heat was turned up a notch. Triton began to regain the advantage, with a 2-run score in the 4th inning.

After COD lost the lead, you could see Martin was a little upset. “It’s hard sitting on the bench knowing that I can’t help my teammates.” With a quick check-up from her father: “I had to see how she was doing. She never gets hurt,” Martin’s spirits began to lift as she cheered on her team.

No matter the score, pitcher Aubrey Paluszek, kept her composure. Strike after strike, Paluszek pitching form never changed, but she did paint a beautiful mosaic over the strike zone.

After a hard fought battle, the game came to a shocking conclusion: the Lady Chaps lose 4-6. After a show of great sportsmanship, Head Coach Ryan Connell, had a few words for his team. Since I was not a part of the integral team,I was unable to hear what the speech pertained to. However, I did speak with CF Marjorie Sloan, regarding losing such a close game.

“I felt like we could have played played a lot better,” she said. “We made a few mistakes, and we have to learn from them.”

What a great preview into this season of softball. As the Lady Chaps continue to develop with a spring training in Cocoa Beach, Flo., the games ahead are sure to be more action packed than the last. Come cheer on our Lady Chaps during their next home game: March 31st , against Elgin @3pm.