Softball Isn't for the Soft-hearted

By Kalesha Monkou

Spectrum Staff Writer

Softball, invented in Chicago in 1887, a strategic sport that requires a lot of hand-eye coordination is a sport that, while in the name, isn’t soft at all. Players are usually left drenched in sweat from running around the felid dogging cleats and flying softballs going upwards of 77 miles per hour, it America’s sport, played by women. Softball, however, didn’t join the collegiate level until 1982, almost 100 years after its original inception.

Consisting of a bat, a ball, and at least nine players on one team, softball has earned it place in the heart of sports fans everywhere. Which is great for the 12-player roster that makes up Bowie States Division II softball team.

The ladies that play this sport at BSU are freshmen Morgan White and Morgana Johnson, juniors Tiffany Bearns, Jaelyn Belt, Madison Margas, Asia-Marie Young, Megan Visele, and Morgan Powell, and Seniors Inaya Jones, Nicoleen Ochoa, Jacqueline Pickering, and Ja’seph Smith. The team is led by head coach Tonja Braxton and her two assistant coaches Gia Moore and Alexandra Lobban.

Even with their differences they always play as a team, said Ochoa, the team's pitcher and utility player. The ladies are known for looking out for each other both on and off the field. They will continue to support and rely on each other throughout the upcoming season.