Softball Bounces Back to Claim Series Win Over Hendrix

The McMurry Softball team experienced a weekend defined by resilience, bouncing back from a tough series-opening loss to sweep a doubleheader against Hendrix College and secure the series victory. After being shut out 8–0 in the opener, the War Hawks regrouped and responded with a dominant showing the following day, and according to the most recent game recap, “securing a 5-1 victory in game one and a commanding 10-1 win in game two.”  

I interviewed Junior player Emmalee Gebhart about this season, hoping to get personal insight ]into her experience. I first asked her what makes this season different compared to her past experience playing softball at McMurry. She stated, “This is the first year we have had no seniors, so it is what most people would call our ‘building year’. It feels like we are closer as a team than we have ever been before. We started team Bible studies this year also, and I think that plays a huge role in it”.   

The team’s faith was a crucial factor in their resilience. She explained that from the fans’ perspective, they lost their first game 8-0 and then bounced back on day 2. What the fans didn’t get to see was the fun that they had on the second day. Emmalee stated, “The energy felt different in the dugout, everyone trusted each other, and we just had fun and played for each other instead of ourselves. We always remember that no matter the outcome, we are there to glorify God, and we are there because of him, so whatever he brought us to, he will bring us through! She closed her answer saying that she is really proud of her team for bouncing back and winning that series, and she thinks that they will be unstoppable for the rest of the season if they keep up what they did these last 2 games of the series.  

Lastly, I was interested to know what is something that fans may not realize about the work that goes into being a college softball player. She answered saying that for her personally, she does not think fans realize how hard the pitchers work to try and make their hitters improve as well as themselves improve. At practice, they work on their own pitches while also pitching live to their batters so that they see live pitching before the weekend’s games.  

Overall, if our softball team continues to work hard and lean on each other when times get tough, success is in their future! I wish them the best of luck as they finish out their season! If you would like to support the team, their next series will be this weekend in Dallas against the University of Dallas. 

More information can be found on the softball schedule.