With bats and freshly broken-in mitts in hand, the Parker softball team jumped into their 2026 season on February 24, coached by Madi Maldonado and Riley Bruce and captained by seniors Darcy Rachel, Izzy Sager, and Mia Vitacek.
During their preseason, starting as early as 6:45 a.m., players were at practice, running laps and swinging in the batting cage. Most Parker teams are split into JV and Varsity teams, but the softball team has just one team, meaning that freshmen who have never played before get to be on the field in a game next to a seasoned senior.
A typical high school softball team has around twelve to sixteen players, with only nine on the field at a time but since only nineteen students joined the team this year, splitting the team into a JV and Varsity wasn’t possible. “I like it more that it’s one Varsity team,” said freshman Alyssa Wilson. “We get to have media day, and it also looks good on college applications, too.”
Since there is no Middle School softball team offered at Parker, over half of the freshmen on the team have never played before. In order for all players to be appropriately challenged, coaches need to make adjustments. “We make sure that when we do drills and things of that sort, we mix people,” said Head Coach and Parker physical education teacher Madi Maldonado. “But then we also have to do things where new to the sport players have to separate from the ten people who have been here before.”
The team’s first game was against Chicago Hope Academy on March 20, which resulted in a tough loss with a score of 17-3. Their second game took place on March 24 against Amundsen High School, and the team walked away with another loss. “The first game definitely was a tough one,” said freshman Fernie Tafolla.“I think the team most definitely did their best.”
Softball has 16 games scheduled throughout the months of March, April, and May, as well as the athletics banquet on May 20. This schedule provides plenty of opportunities for growth and some wins. Even after a couple tough losses, the coaches remain optimistic. “The score might not reflect it, but we did some good things,” said Maldonado, “in practice we will make sure to address our mistakes.”
To come back from these losses, the coaches and players have put in place some goals and mindsets to improve. “We intend to recover from tough losses by trying to give it our all,” said Tafolla. Remaining optimistic is a common theme. “Things can hopefully only go up from here,” said Maldonado, “we’ve learned from our losses.”
Players look forward to a season full of growth and improvement. There are plenty of games to use as learning opportunities this year as well as for bonding moments within the team. With two out of the 16 games played and many more practices to come, the skills of the girls Varsity softball team, as expressed by players and coaches, is going to improve.
