TYRONE, PA – This season the Tyrone Area High School varsity softball team earned five wins, finishing with a record of five wins and 15 losses.

Despite the less than .500 record, this outcome represents a great step forward for the Tyrone girls softball program.  It is the most wins the varsity team has recorded in a single season in recent memory.

Assistant coach Jim Cushion said, “Tyrone softball has changed a lot over the last five years. We have girls going to pitching clinics and taking hitting lessons.”

Tessa Corle, a senior who has played for the Tyrone softball team since she was a freshman said the softball team has worked so much harder this year. “Tyrone softball is so much better than what it was my freshman year,” said Corle, “and I hope it continues to get better as the years continue.”

A freshman on the varsity team, Finnley Christine, said that she thinks the softball team has come a long way since her first year of softball. “We won [five] games this year. The varsity team has never won that many games in a season!” Christine finds this to be a huge accomplishment for the team.

Corle also stated, “This season is so much more competitive and [the teammates are] so much closer.  The upper classmen are better with the freshmen than how I was treated [as a freshman].”  Christine agreed, stating that “we are more experienced than previous years.”

Tyrone Softball has changed a lot over the year. You have to work hard to get a good outcome in the end. The girls on this team this season have so much dedication to the sport.

The greatest part about Tyrone softball is working as a team Corle said. Our program has come a very long way.

Christine said that the one thing that makes softball fun is “the people I get to play with. It’s not all serious; we are able to have a fun time while practicing.” The adrenaline and competition are the things that make softball fun Corle said.

Cushion stated that his favorite part of coaching is “teaching the girls what I know and watching them carry it out on the field. When it does work it gives me a sense of pride and an ‘are you kidding me!’ reaction.”

Many of the girls on the team are also playing summer softball and travel softball. Most will play in the Keystone League in Altoona, Pa. Some have also tried out for other teams such as Flood City Elite out of Altoona, Razorbacks out of Bellwood, Ever Power out of Forest Hills, and the Keystone Krushers from Altoona.

Any girl in 5^th grade and above who is interested in playing softball next season should plan on attending clinics that the varsity team will run in November.