Essay On Hard Work Makes History

About three weeks ago, the Packer Varsity baseball team beat Berkeley Carroll school for the first time in twelve years and in glorious fashion. Tears streamed down my face as our winning run crossed the plate in extra innings, dust flying up as my teammates and I mobbed each other at the plate. Yet a few short days later, our team was blindsided by the news that St. Ann’s had pulled off back to back upsets to squeak their way into the playoffs ahead of us - just as our season seemed to be looking up, it was over.

“A group of dedicated girls” is how Junior Danielle Urbon described the softball team. Even though the team struggled all year long and didn’t win as many games as they expected, they loved the game. The team showed improvement from last season but still have much work to do to get to where they want to be. When interview-

On February 28, 2005, I experienced one of the most exciting events that anyone could ever experience – winning a State Championship. The day my soccer team made history is a day I’ll never forget. However it is not just that day we won the title, but the whole experience of the preceding season that got us there. From start to finish, my team’s 2004-2005 season taught me that the platitude is true. You can do anything you set your mind to.

My freshman year we entered playoffs with a hopeful optimism that in our first year in 3A, the largest division, we could make a statement that we were here to stay. In the end, the game didn’t go our way. There were some questionable calls made but in the end, it is what it is: we weren’t good enough to win. A tough reality but often times you learn more from a loss than from a win. Sophomore

Last spring the Poland varsity baseball team made it to the state quarterfinals, and I was lucky enough to be a part of it. Before the season started we knew that our team was going to be special. Then was the season went on we showed it. Game after game we blew teams out, twenty to nothing, fifteen to nothing, we were a juggernaut. We had every tool at our advantage, we had hitting fielding and pitching. When our hitting wasn’t doing so well our defense picked them up, and when our fielding wasn’t doing well our hitting picked them up. We were a very hard team to beat. As the regular season came to an end our record was twenty-three to two. Then playoffs came around, and that’s when we really started to hit our stride. The first game of playoffs

You don't hear everyday a high school team winning state championships that often, but at Archbishop Wood it's sort of common. I proudly can say I am one of the few that has not one, but two state championship rings under my belt. As a sophomore AND a junior in high school, my basketball team accomplished being State Champions two years in a row. The first year we won was one of the best experiences of being apart of a team. After losing in the state championship the year before, we knew we had to somehow get back the next year and make sure we'd come out with the trophy. As the new season began in  November of 2016, we played in the Nike tournament of champions in Arizona. The trip was one of the most memorable trips ever with the best group of girls. We had a blast,

In game two, Centenary fell behind 3-0 before scoring two in the fourth because of a key error and one more in the fifth. With two down in the fourth, senior Lizzie Moran hit a groundball to first that was misplayed to allow her to beat the throw. Moran stole second and scored on sophomore Wendy Gillet’s RBI hit. While trying to gun down Moran at the plate, Gillet moved to second and scored on freshman Ashley Albright’s hit.

The worry I had earlier began to slowly dissipate as we headed onward to the next inning. It’s a shame that the worry was only gone for a total of 18 pitches before they had gotten three scores and were ahead of us. When we finally got inside the dugout for our turn to bat, we were pumped to get back ahead of them as fast as possible. We were able to get one run before we reached our three outs and were thrust back onto the field with a tying score. They took two runs from us again causing me to get worried again. They just went ahead of us by two points, and I felt that all was lost. We were finally able to get the last out and we headed inside to the dugout. We were only able to get one run back like last time and I felt that we would lose and then we would be unable to go to the World Series, which is something I had wanted to achieve for sometime. But we were struck out and we went back out onto the field.

The worry I had earlier began to slowly dissipate as we headed onward to the next inning. It’s a shame that the worry was only gone for a total of 18 pitches before they had gotten three scores and were ahead of us. When we finally got inside the dugout for our turn to bat, we were pumped to get back ahead of them as fast as possible. We were able to get one run before we reached our three outs and were thrust back onto the field with a tying score. They took two runs from us again causing me to get worried again. They just went ahead of us by two points, and I felt that all was lost. We were finally able to get the last out and we headed inside to the dugout. We were only able to get one run back like last time and I felt that we would lose and then we would be unable to go to the World Series, which is something I had wanted to achieve for sometime. But we were struck out and we went back out onto the field.

Trailing 5-3 in the sixth inning, freshman Ashlin Roach and senior Brianna Williams doubled and singled to put runners on the corners and end the day for the Centenary starter, Haley Miller. Then, after a foul out, Matulis singled through the left side to make it a one-run game, scoring Roach. Next,

Although the Southern Oregon weather hasn’t particularly indicated the start of spring, the season of new beginnings has commenced and brought along with it a fresh new Pirate baseball team thirsty for success. With a varied degree of experience at their repertoire, the Phoenix Pirates look to revitalize a program that has missed the playoffs by one single spot in the past two consecutive years. After completing their preseason with a record over .500, the team transitioned into the league contests and was quickly confronted with some struggles. Through their first six games, the boys were only able to pick up two victories (both against Klamath Union in a double header). They managed to compete with two of the toughest teams in the state when battling against Hidden Valley and Henley, but ultimately dropped all three of the contests featuring those ball clubs. Despite a rocky start, the Pirates seemed poised to make a run for the playoffs coming off a competitive double header in Henley that certainly boosted their confidence for the ensuing games.

In 2016, more than ever, the team was committed to and had one goal of winning. One of our biggest rivals was St. John’s College High School (SJCHS). My doubles partner and I played the last match of the WCAC championships against SJCHS. During the season, SJCHS was one of the hardest competitors we faced but walking onto the court on the final day of championships, my partner and I knew we would fight and win. After 45 minutes, I hit an ace and we won the match that put us in the lead to win the championships. October 30, 2016 was the single most exciting and overwhelming day for the team all season. Everyone’s hard work paid off.

A senior Aaron Quintanilla bunt single and a walk put two runners on with no outs in the sixth, but a foul out and another groundball double play ended that threat.

Now in the 1st inning, with 2 outs, he makes a diving stop to get the third out. End of the inning. He is up to bat in the bottom of the first inning with runners on 2nd and 3rd, one out. Here comes the pitch… BOOM! That ball hit him right in the small of the back. He is down and he’s not getting back up. The home team might have lost their star infielder in the 1st inning, but no, he gets up and walks to first base. Bases loaded, one out.

The team was ready, we had been working extremely hard for the past seven months for this. We were all in great shape and very rested. A few of the returning players were meeting me at my house to carpool to the final game of the state championship tournament. Everyone knew that the hard work had paid off when we won the semi-final game the preceding day.