Gainesville Lady Bulldogs end season at 13-9
Photo by Miranda Donley This photo of the Gainesville Lady Bulldogs softball team was taken after the girls took third place at the Pride Park Tournament Saturday, Sept. 18, in Bakersfield. The Lady Bulldogs ended their season in the first round of the Class 2 District 1 tournament at Hartville when they fell 5-1 to a tough Hartville team. Team members are, from left (front), seniors Gwendolyn Broderick, Debra Winrod and Hallee Donley; (back) Sailor Anderson, Bretlyn Kastning, Macenzie Avila, Emory Warden, Jenna Uchtman, Brooklynn Bushong, Leigha Rowland, Katelyn Morgan, Alyssa Smith, Jessee Latham and Emma McGinnis. The team is coached by Joe Walrath and assistant Renee Hambelton.
The Gainesville Lady Bulldogs softball team ended the fall season with a 13-9 record after a 5-1 loss to the Hartville Lady Eagles in the Class 2 District 1 tournament held at Hartville on Tuesday, Oct. 12. “ I knew it was going to be a tough job when the umpire started calling to a spot instead of a zone,” said Gainesville coach Joe Walrath. “You always want an umpire to have a zone, not a spot, but we will leave it at that. The girls played a hard game and hit the ball well. It was just right at people.”
The season was one of great strides for the Gainesville girls, who are a young team with only three seniors – Gwendolyn Broderick, Hallee Donley and Debra Winrod. “I asked the girls what their goals were at the beginning of the fall,” Walrath said. “Trying to have a .500 season was a big one, winning something besides a consolation trophy was another one, playing competitive against teams who had always beat them in the past, and winning a district.
The girls went 13-9, took one second-place and two third-place trophies home, and beat teams they hadn’t beaten in a long time. “Yes we fell short on the district, but for a team that finished 3-16 last year, three out of four isn’t bad,” Walrath said. “I’m very proud of my girls.”