Bellevue West’s varsity softball team took on the district A-5 tournament on Oct. 9 and 10. Before the tournament, the team went 7-21 overall, the lowest number of wins for the Thunderbirds in the past 10 seasons. 

According to senior Paige Stuck, the record was not at all a reflection of the team. 

“We still went out there every game with the same mindset of doing our best no matter what the score or name of the opponent,” Stuck said. “The only difference was we lost some players, but we still had the same spirit and the same love for the game.”

In their first game of the district tournament, West took on Omaha Benson, who went 1-22 in the regular season. West defeated Benson 12-0. West then played Millard South.

“Millard South wasn’t going to roll over and let us have it,” Stuck said. “We were going to have to fight for it, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.”

The Thunderbirds ended up falling to Millard South 5-1. Because the tournament is double elimination, this loss brought them into the loser bracket, where they defeated Lincoln Southeast 13-9. They would once again lose to the district winners, Millard South, in a 11-0 loss. 

According to head coach Laura Scott, the team found most success in their offense. 

“Overall our offense was really good this year,” Scott said. “We reached a new season record of homeruns with 16 and our team batting average was well over .300.”

Despite a rough season, the players still remained their “quirky and fun” selves.

“Even though we struggled to get some wins against good competition, they continued to show their personalities on and off the field,” Scott said. 

As the team looks forward to next season, Scott looks forward to building on the offensive mindset carried by the team this year. 

“We are continuing to break school records from year to year,” Scott said. “We as a coaching staff are excited to get to work on some key aspects this off season to get us back to a competitive level next season.”