I interviewed four softball athletes from Averett University: Kailey Gates, Hannah Zabik, Kaci Stephenson and Nina Luangrath . 

Q: “How has the team’s chemistry been so far into the season?”

A. Gates answered with “Our team chemistry has been great, never been better, and proceeds to get better every game and practice”. Zabik answered with “I feel like we’ve gotten a lot closer, we all get along really well, and we all can talk on and off the field, so I feel like it’s really good.”

A. Luangrath answered with “I feel like we’re sisters, like we’re just best friends, we hang out with each other all the time, and we’re always together.”

Q: “What’s been the highlight of the season so far?”

A. Gates answered with “Beating Muskingum University.”

A. Stephenson answered with “Both of our sweeps, we swept Meredith University, and we swept Sweet Briar, and our sweeps were the best, we were so hype and we were just in it the whole time.”

Q:  “How do you handle pressure during important games?”

A. Gates answered with “I think it’s just important to take a deep breath and remember at the end of the day it’s just a game, softball’s very much a game of chance, like it’s either going to happen or it isn’t.”

A. Zabik replied with “ I honestly talk to God and tell him to get the nerves out of my body”,

A. Stephenson replied with “I honestly just lock in, I do this thing where i pick up the dirt and throw it, which means I’m throwing away the bad energy, and I’m kind of restarting and refreshing my mind.”

A. Luangrath replied with “Just remember it’s the game that you love, and remember to have fun, and remember how fortunate you are and how lucky you are to be playing”.

Q: “What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced this season so far?”

A. Gates replied with “I’ll probably say slow pitching, our team as a whole, were really bad at hitting slow pitches.”

A. Zabik said “The pressure of being an upperclassman.”

Q: “With you guys being in the middle of the season, how hard is it balancing academics and sports?”

A: Gates replied with “I feel like second semester I always try to take easier classes for less credit amounts that way it’s an easier load because we do have pretty lengthy practices most of the time.”

A: Zabik said “It is hard, I do find myself sometimes having to bring homework on the bus which isn’t ideal.”

A: Stephenson said “Mine is definitely the time management thing, when I’m at practice I don’t even think about school. I find time outside of practice where I’m like ok put my phone away, I have an hour to really lock in and get my work done.”

A: Luangrath said “I guess it’s just about finding the balance, and making relationships with your professors, if you need help or anything like that.”

Q: “Who has been your biggest supporter this season?”

A. Gates replied with “I think the team has been our biggest supporter for everyone. The team is all very supportive of each other, but I think my biggest supporter has been God and our coaches.”

A. Stephenson said “Definitely the coaches and my parents, like if it’s been a long day I’ll just get on facetime with my mom for like two hours and talk to her.”

A. Zabik said “I would definitely say the coaches and my father.”

Q:  “How do you celebrate after a big win?”

A. They all replied with a celebration called “Uh SWEEP SWEEP”, meaning they’ve swept the team both times they played each other.