“The Faith Lutheran softball team was faced with numerous adversities in the beginning of the 2024 season, one issue being that the team was in jeopardy of not existing this year.

Senior Jersie McDonald was especially affected by the questionability of the team’s presence on the field. McDonald transferred to Faith Lutheran her sophomore year from Clark High School to play softball, and the thought of not being able to play on the team this year was less than ideal. She had been looking forward to this season with her teammates, and was not ready to skip her senior year of softball at Faith Lutheran High School. “After sitting out my sophomore year because of my transfer period, having the possibility of not playing a senior season was really frustrating,” said Jersie.

Coming off from a successful 2021 and 2022 season, the 2023 season was not guaranteed. With the team losing many of its seniors, everyone thought Faith Lutheran would not have a team this year. Coach Ongman stepped up and assembled a team for this season by creating an environment where the girls felt comfortable learning the game of softball while improving their skills. In their first tournament in Needles, CA they won 3 and lost 2 games to start off their season. Although the team started off rocky with some losses, they continue to get better and improve each game they play.

Jersie said, “This season is all about working with what we got. We are not as good as previous seasons, but we are able to compete.” Even though the team isn’t doing as well as they have in the past, Jersie McDonald is ecstatic about this season. Being one of the two senior pitchers, she’s been dominating this season with 55 strikeouts in the first couple of games this season, with 16 of those strikeouts coming from a recent game against Silverado. Their game against Silverado on April 3 was their second conference game, and their first conference win. Jersie feels like the team is coming together and bonding well.

Jersie said, “I think the team is doing really well given the circumstances; I hope that we can continue to grow.”
With 10 games left in the regular season, the women’s softball team will continue to play to the best of their abilities and represent Faith Lutheran as incredible athletes and teammates.”