The Pioneer, Vol. 51 Issue 8

Sports
RAIDERS WOMEN’S SOFTBALL
FINDS REDEMPTION THIS SEASON
By MARJI HARRIS
Staff Writer
FOR NEW COACH AMBER CO-
BURN, anything that could go wrong did
before the season was half over.
The season started with just enough
players to call a team. Then, one-by-one
the players either got hurt or life got in the
way. Thankfully, other players were able
to join the team – but the roster never got
over the required 10.
“The biggest challenge being a new
coach is coming in to (train) athletes that
you didn’t recruit and then putting that
team together with very few athletes,”
Coburn said.
Natalie Vollandt is one of those players
recruited by previous coach Mark Edmonston.
Vollandt is a pitcher and first
base player and played under Edmonston
for several years before coming to Pierce.
Edmonston was the deciding factor for
Vollandt to play for Pierce. Her mom,
Kellee, and the family dog, Bentley, have
followed the team all season.
“Other four-year schools were looking
at her. I suggested that she go play for
“E” (that’s what we called him) for two
years, get your
prerequisites
done. She’s not
ready to give it
up yet,” Kellee
Vollandt said.
Another
factor the
team faced:
games are
double-headers
with no extra
players. Any
injury meant
they were
done.
“That’s
what’s challenging
when
you have only
10 athletes, 2
pitchers. That’s
our challenge,
when somebody
is getting hurt or sore or tired, that’s
our biggest challenge of how many players
to fit into a game,” said Coburn.
It is hard enough to get a mix of seasoned
players vs. green players to play as
a team. Other teams they were competing
against have been able to play as a team
the whole season. The season was about
half over before the team started coming
together.
When the Raiders played the Bellingham
Bulldogs on April 20, the players were
starting to show the pressure.
“The last few games have been a struggle.
We are short on players midseason.
Girls getting hurt, girls getting tired, just
trying to piece it together,” Coburn said.
But their spirit is undefeatable. Despite
the challenges, Coburn said the team is
in good standing to be in the playoffs in
Spokane. As of April 30, the team is in last
place in its conference.
“This team has it, we have the talent. We
stay competitive. How exciting it would be
for the sophomores to finish their season
up and for the freshman their first season
to make it there, my first year as a coach, it
would be exciting to make it,” she said.
Freshman centerfielder Michaela Houglane
signed on last year under Edmonston,
too. Coming together as a cohesive unit
with new players in the middle of the
season has not been easy, she said.
“It’s been challenging just because you’re
having to work with new people constantly.
You don’t know them, you don’t know
their styles as well and then people leave
and you get attached. It’s sad because it is a
very team-oriented sport,” she said.
Coburn’s optimism is felt by the
team’s potential.
“I believe in this team. I believe
in them a lot. There is a lot of
mental challenges, as well as
physical. This team is very
much in their heads. But
we do have a good chance
at the playoffs, keep getting
better every day.
It is just a matter of
coming together
as one, working
together,” she
said.
Upcoming Games
May 8 at Highline, 2 p.m.
May 10 vs. Highline, 4 p.m.
May 12 at Skagit Valley, noon
Debbie Denbrook/Staff Photos
6 / piercepioneernews.com
May 7, 2018 / Vol. 51, Issue 8