This past season has been a grand slam for the LHS softball team. The girls have undoubtedly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with across the state of South Dakota.

The softball team has been consistently placing higher at the State tournament that closes off the season each year. Recently, the softball team took a tough defeat against RHS in the South Dakota state softball tournament championship game. Overall, the team was disappointed about the loss; however, it has already inspired them for their next season.

“I believe this has been a very successful season because we came in second at state and battled very hard in the championship game,” said junior Millie Mueller. “This year has been one of the best years for LHS softball statistically, and I’m very proud of what this team accomplished.”

Placing second at State was no small feat, and is one of the highest places the team has been able to achieve in over a decade. In 2007, the softball team claimed the state title which has been the only softball state championship in the school’s history. Another historical moment came this season when the girls beat Rapid City Stevens, who they have not defeated for a number of years.

“Obviously, we wanted to win and we definitely could have, but we just came up short,” said junior Jada Mindt. “Our main goal for next year is to win state. Most of our team is returning, so I think we have a very good chance of winning next year.”

Not only has LHS gained many new faces in recent years, the girls have also been primarily a younger team. The main grade level supplying the state team was the junior class, which contributed six girls to the varsity squad. Next year all six juniors will be returning. The girls are even more motivated to play with tenacity because it will be their last high

school season together.

“The atmosphere was been really fun, and everyone got along so great,” said Mueller. “Even at practice we joked around and made it fun, yet productive. My favorite memory this year probably was the drumsticks skills or kazoo skills we used in the dugout to get hyped during the games and my handshakes with T-dawg [(Trent Dlugosh)] I would do when I reach first base.”

The girls have had a lot of good times together, which can be accredited to the team’s success. Coaches simply can not teach team chemistry, but luckily the softball team seems to have found that in full swing. The coaches have also helped by encouraging them to come together and put the team first. While the girls love to mess around and have fun, they also know when it is time to be serious, and a fierce competitor lies within each one of them on game day.

“We all share the same love for this sport and work hard to get better everyday so we can try to accomplish our dream,” said Mueller.