Going into the second inning of a scoreless softball game against Oviedo, both teams had gotten some hits, but it looked like it was going to be a tight battle through all seven innings. Pitcher Reese Twiggs kept Oviedo’s offense grounded, but in the bottom of the inning, the momentum shifted. The offense scored three runs before center fielder Ana Roman’s grand slam pushed the score to 7-0, and the team never looked back. 

“I was not expecting a blowout, but I was really shocked when everybody brought the energy,” Roman said. “I knew that it was gonna be a good game, but I was not expecting us to kill Oviedo like that.” 

The mostly-senior team beat the Lions in a five inning game 12-0, with home runs from Roman and first baseman Rachel Matthiesen. The defense did not tone down their energy, either. With Twiggs’ pitching, the Lions were only allowed four hits for the game.

Last season, the team made it to the regional semifinal, and most of the squad returned for this season, explaining their successful start.

“We have a really strong lineup. Each hitter has their own talent that they can contribute to the team,” Roman said. “Whether they’re fast, they can hit home runs or they just get on base everybody’s going to contribute to get to the playoffs.” 

Even though there were many positives to take from the game, there were still first game jitters. The team had a few errors on defense which didn’t impact them throughout the game.

“There is always room for improvement–definitely our signs [for] base running and we can always hit more,” sophomore Lexi Beldowicz said. “Our energy hasn’t always been great so keeping our energy high [is important].”

The team will try to continue their winning streak when they play Montverde Academy on Feb. 28 at home. Tickets can be found on gofan.com.

“We definitely have a lot of good players, if we just work together and play as a team, we will be really good,” Beldowicz said.