Spring excursions
West Greene softball team鈥檚 annual trek to Myrtle Beach a group effort
West Greene鈥檚 softball team kept what鈥檚 been an annual tradition going this spring.
The Lady Pioneers, under head coach Bill Simms, trekked to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina to take part in The Ripken Experience to begin their season.
It鈥檚 a trip that鈥檚 easier said than done but he feels the benefits are great for his squad.
鈥淥ur first one was in 2014 and it was just a trial-and-error trip,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淲e wanted to come down because we knew we were going to be decent in 2016. We ironed out some of the rough edges on what we wanted to get accomplished while we were down here. And we鈥檝e been down here every year since other than the covid year.鈥�
That the Lady Pioneers did turn out to be 鈥渄ecent鈥� is an understatement. The 2016 squad won the first of five consecutive WPIAL championships, which included back-to-back PIAA titles in 2017 and 2018. West Greene might have won six straight district titles if not for the covid pandemic that wiped out the 2021 season, which would鈥檝e been West Greene star pitcher/hitter Jade Renner鈥檚 senior year.
Simms feels the annual trip south always helps his team get a solid jump on the season. Pulling off such an endeavour isn鈥檛 easy, however.
鈥淲e have a huge fundraiser that we do and it鈥檚 very successful,鈥� Simms explained when asked what goes into planning and executing the excursion. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 do multiple fundraisers, we put all our eggs in one basket. It鈥檚 called a Night at the Races and it鈥檚 just one big festive evening. The community and the area really supports it. We have a ton of what we call corporate sponsors that get involved to make sure the girls go. We raise all the money we need to be able to do that in a one-shot deal.鈥�
Simms acknowledged all the contributions his team receives in making the trip happen annually.
鈥淭he biggest thing is we have a tremendous boosters group,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淲e need a lot of help to run that fundraiser. Some people try to make $3,000 at one fundraiser. Well we try to make $20,000 at one. We get a lot of buy-in with a lot of people helping and donating things and it works out well.
鈥淭he second thing is having the support from your administration and board. We have been very fortunate at West Greene where even when we secure the money, we have to get the OK to go ahead with it and we鈥檝e been blessed to have them say, yes, your team can take this trip. Some schools might have something like this every other year, some schools have trouble with putting a trip like this together at all.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just been nice that we have support from the board and admin to keep this going on an annual basis thus far.鈥�
Transportation is another key part of a successful trip.
鈥淥ne year we rented vans and went. Every other year we鈥檝e gone down on a coach bus,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淲e have never flown yet, but we鈥檝e got a nice relationship with T.A. Nelson who makes sure we get a good bus. Actually, two years we have shared cost of transportation with our baseball and softball teams going together on the same trip.鈥�
One key reason to make the annual trip is the weather, which can be very unpredictable at this time of year in southwest Pennsylvania compared to South Carolina. Even so there are still unforeseen aspects of it.
鈥淭he main thing for the team is to try to get a jump on a lot of innings, a lot of at bats,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淪ometimes you鈥檙e at the mercy of who comes here that particular week. There have been times we鈥檝e come down here and you play a team that you really don鈥檛 want to play because they鈥檙e not very good. Then there鈥檚 the exact opposite. More times than not, people that have invested money to come here are some hammer good teams you end up going up against. You run into some people you might not want to play that way either.
鈥淏ut we鈥檝e been successful enough, we鈥檝e got a good enough program that we want to keep coming down. When you see those teams, even if you get thumped around a little bit, you鈥檝e seen great pitching, you鈥檙e in a lot of defensive spots where you have to make plays that you might otherwise not have to make until you鈥檙e in a WPIAL championship game up north. It鈥檚 just a nice early-season test for us.
鈥淲hat we try to do is play three JV games and three varsity games while we鈥檙e down here. We鈥檝e played more before. There have been times you鈥檙e down here and you might get a team come up to you and say, hey, we鈥檙e looking for an extra game, do you want to play? You鈥檙e apt to say yes as long as you have room for it in your schedule. Before, we鈥檝e come down here and had four games cancelled already and so you鈥檙e looking to play another one. The weather plays a bit of a factor here, too, some years. But most years things work out pretty well for us.鈥�
The players look forward to the spring trip, which includes more than just playing softball.
鈥淚鈥檝e got great seniors this year who started out as freshmen coming down here and they鈥檝e always enjoyed it,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淭hey do all kinds of different activities. We try to have a night out where the girls like to get dressed up a little bit and we go to a big, nice seafood place. They did that last night and had a great time, then afterwards they asked if they could go to this go-cart racing place, then they were playing mini-golf.
鈥淭he boosters have always said do whatever you want to do and we鈥檝e got right now the funding to do it. It鈥檚 a nice team-bonding thing. We try to not turn it into a boot camp of softball while we鈥檙e down here. Some people want to come here and play 12 games in three days, and we could with the pitching we have, but we try to let them be girls, too. We want to let them go out on the beach, go on the go-karts, play mini-golf, but we do focus primarily on our softball.鈥�
There are other options for baseball and softball southern trips, but Simms prefers Myrtle Beach.
鈥淲e have kept our trip at Myrtle Beach to give the aspect of seeing the ocean to our West Greene kids,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淪everal teams have switched to Ripken at Pigeon Forge in Tennessee and that is an option, too, but we feel it is a nice touch to take our girls to the ocean. We joke that we have to 鈥榞et them out of Aleppo.'鈥�
The players stay up on their schoolwork from afar also.
鈥淲e expect the girls to check in on any online assignments they may get from teachers, and we have them work on homework while they are down here, too,鈥� Simms said.
The Lady Pioneers have high hopes for another successful year, led by senior shortstop Kendra Tharp and junior pitcher Sammi Zimmerman. Simms predicts a big year from senior Emmaline Beazell as well.
鈥淓mmaline is primarily a third baseman but she can play anywhere, she鈥檚 very versatile,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淪he was all-section last year and we鈥檙e looking for bigger and better things from her this year.
鈥淲e have a couple freshmen that are unknowns to everyone. Caitlin Whyte, Colin Whyte鈥檚 sister who鈥檚 a great athlete herself, a good volleyball player, will be doing some pitching and playing some first base for us. She鈥檚 a really good hitter. Then there鈥檚 going to be an impact freshman name Rylee Yeager who might move in behind the plate but she can also play other places.
鈥淭here are other kids in the mix, like (junior) Kylee Davis and (sophomore) Katie Brudnock and several more girls who we expect to be really good for us. Then there鈥檚 another freshman who鈥檚 been tremendous for us down here. Her name is Josie Mason. She鈥檚 just absolutely been hitting the cover off the ball. We鈥檙e pleasantly surprised and pleased with that.鈥�
It all starts with the trip down south.
鈥淚 believe this always gives us a good jump on the season, not just playing but mentally, too,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big production and you need everyone pulling together to make it successful.
鈥淚 like to coin-phrase it with you can鈥檛 come down here selling hoagies,鈥� Simms said with a chuckle. 鈥淲e have tremendous support from the school, around the community and the girls are involved and the parents are willing to work for it too, and all that is what makes us able to do this every year.鈥�
West Greene seemed to be ready to roll upon its return to Pennsylvania. Tharp smacked a two-run homer and a pair of doubles and Whyte was 3 for 3 with a double and scored four runs in a five-inning, 11-1 Section 2-A home win over Beth-Center on Monday.