Wednesday night, the Lady Knights softball team faced the Bradenton Bayshore Bruins in a district quarterfinals match. As they stepped out onto the field and sat down in the dugout, they were greeted by a few familiar faces.

“It was intense. We had some old players come back and give us a pep talk,” says Katherine Kraemer (’17). “We walked on that field knowing that we wanted to win.”

Though Kraemer was not in the batting order, she felt that the atmosphere on the bench was unlike any other game.

“It was nerve-wracking because we got off to a slow start and we were down by one,” explains Kraemer, “but then we came back. It was nice to see everyone pull together for a team effort. Even though I didn’t play, the energy was all together. The cheering was loud, everyone was cooperating, and [there was] a lot of camaraderie.”

During the 4th inning, the team hit their stride. Many back to back hits put the team on the scoreboard and helped them to pull into the lead.

Second-baseman Hayley Mongoy (’17) credits the offense for the turning point of the game.

“The consistent hitting towards the fourth inning really fired up the team,” she said.

A strong defense, however, shut the Bruins down, and secured Robinson’s win in the last play of the game. In one fell swoop, Claire White (’18) made an out at first all the way from third and Jen Oliva (’17) threw the ball home, making a double play.

In the end, the team’s hard work paid off, achieving a win of 10 to 5. In over thirty years of Robinson softball history, this is the first time that the team has one a district quarterfinal match.

“The energy in the dugout was great,” says Julia Lewis (’15). “We like to keep it nice and loud, and of course during regional games, there is extra hype. It was awesome and it felt really good to win.”

The Lady Knights will continue their playoff journey next Tuesday (April 27th) when they take on the Boca Ciega Pirates. You can support the girls by attending the game or following their new Twitter @RHSS_softball.