Summer Exploration: Determined girls bring back softball

Last summer at least a half dozen girls played baseball on the Coach Pitch team. They enjoyed being part of a team and having the opportunity to help New Rockford secure its first championship in a home tournament in at least three years.

It was during that home tournament when teammates 11-year-old Lora Wobbema and 10-year-old Tillie Swart came up with an idea. It would be fun for the girls to play softball together, they thought. Then they could continue to play on the same team, as Lora would have moved up to Cal Ripken otherwise.

That same day, during a break between games, they approached Jon Johnson, manager of the New Rockford Park District at the time. Johnson appreciated their enthusiasm and replied that if the pair could round up enough girls who wanted to play, he would help secure a coach and work to get the program started the next summer. 

After a follow-up conversation at a park board meeting, the New Rockford Park District distributed a survey last fall to gauge interest in softball among girls age 8 to 14, and the result was relatively favorable.

Fast forward to May 2018, and with the loss of Johnson as manager, the park board decided to try the survey again during summer sign-up. Eight girls expressed interest, and park board member Kristi Swenson brought the list to the New Rockford Transcript office. The message got back to Lora that they needed at least 10-12 girls to get the program going, and within one short school day, Lora and her friends had encouraged enough girls to join the team.

Swenson then went to work carrying out the promise the park board had made to the girls, and she personally built a schedule with slowpitch teams in Harvey, Rugby, and Drake-Anamoose that included six games and two tournaments.

The only thing missing was a coach. They solicited help through the newspaper, social media and word of mouth. But coaches proved hard to find, especially for girls' softball, as there hasn't been a local women's team in several years.

June came, and still no one said they'd coach. Then, outgoing park board member Joe Greiner and wife Erin decided that they didn't want to let the girls down. With a baby due in just weeks, they stepped up to the plate and agreed to lead the girls.

Then the work began. This nascent team had to learn the basics: how to pitch a softball underhand, the best way to hit it, when to walk and when to run. And they needed jerseys so they could look like a team. And a name!

Local businesses Transcript Publishing and Kickin Designs-N-Delights worked with parents and park board members to develop a jersey design, and generous financial support came from the New Rockord Lions Club.

The name, on the other hand, just flew off the tongue of teammate Kaiya O'Connor who quickly declared that they should call themselves the Pink Sox, because their jerseys had pink letters and it was a fun twist off the local Black Sox mascot the baseball teams use. Everyone agreed enthusiastically. Coach Joe Greiner even bught himself a pair of neon pink baseball socks to wear at games!

The weather and short supply of field time meant that the girls would play their first game with just two practices.

They traveled to Harvey on Thursday, June 21 and played two games to start the season. The first game got away from them, but by the second game they had a bit of a rhythm going.

After one more long practice they headed back to Harvey for a three-game tournament. They played hard, but didn't come up with a win. They got plenty of experience watching how the established teams worked together and handled the ball, and they learned.

Then a quick weekend ended, and the girls were back in action Monday, July 2 in Rugby. They held their own against the nearly two dozen girls on two separate teams. They lost the first game 7-6 and ended the fifth inning of the second game tied up at 1-1. In the extra inning their opponents scored one more and won the game 2-1. The Pink Sox have three more games and a tournament left to play. See them in action at home on Thursday, July 12 at 5 p.m. when they take on Harvey.

This week's Summer Exploration feature is sponsored by Bird Dawg Cafe, Do it Best Hardware/NAPA, Styles by Glenda, Mick's 281 Service/Champ's Chicken and Central Pharmacy. Please show your gratitude for their support by shopping locally this summer and throughout the year.