To play against one takes guts, but to play against all is nuts. To some, this saying fits the bill of the Maple Lake softball team. This team was able to go as far as third in state in 2022, according to sophomore Tessa Pribyl. She attributed this success from practice. “I’ve become a stronger player, and I’ve learned not to trip over second base and tear my ACL,” said Pribyl. “I improved through practice. Practice makes perfect.” 

The Irish practice daily as they work on perfecting everything from their infield to batting. “We do a bunch of batting drills,” says Pribyl. “And then we do a bunch of grounders to practice out infield and stuff.” 

This practice has allowed the team to take third in state with only one lost conference game and for personal records to be broken, such as for junior Kelsi Jude. “I have the record,” said Jude. “For the most double hits at State.” 

Breaking records is not the only reason Jude has stayed in the sport since the age of nine or ten. It also has to do with enjoying time with friends. “My favorite part is that most of the time when our team gets along, it’s fun,” said Jude, “We’ll just laugh things off, and we get along most of the time.” 

While fun times with the team were a reason some stayed, for senior Gwen Geyen, there was a different reason for joining at ten years old. “I probably joined when I was ten,” said Geyen. “Just because my siblings have always played and my dad wanted to coach.” 

Since joining, Geyen has improved at the sport and plans to work hard to keep that improvement going. “I improved by practicing every time I could and always giving my full effort,” said Geyen. “I plan to improve by practicing hard and showing up every day.” 

Through hard work and teamwork, the Maple Lake Irish Softball team has become good enough to place at state and break records, and most, if not all, still strive for improvement. This work and practice make the team an apparent force to be reckoned with, that in the upcoming season, has the potential to be insane to go up against.