BRYAN, Ohio — UPDATE: Bryan won the D-II state semifinal, 2-1. They will play for a state championship Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against Canfield.
The original story is below:
History has been made - and is still in the making - as the Bryan High School softball team will make their first-ever state tournament appearance this weekend.
“Everyone has a positive mindset right now," said senior catcher Ella Voigt. "We have faith in each other that we’ll be there for each other and be behind each other on the field too, and I think that everyone’s coming in ready to go to start the week."
Head coach Samantha Molina has led the Golden Bears' program for the past six years. So, how have they gotten here now?
“I think a lot of it has to do with the leadership of obviously our eight seniors on our team this year, and then the girls that came before them kind of continued to pave the way for these girls," she said.
In addition to the leadership, mentality has also played a factor.
“Everyone sees us as like the underdog I guess you could say and I think having the underdog mentality and everything has helped us get this far cause we wanna prove everyone wrong," said sophomore pitcher Thea Staten. "So I think just having that has really helped us.”
"It’s been incredible to see what our girls’ sports have done the last few years in general so I think our underclassmen are picking up on that competitive wave and gonna keep carrying this team," Molina said.
Some girls on the team have experience at a state tournament, such as Voigt, who played with a few of her softball teammates on Bryan's basketball team.
“It’s huge like when I was on the basketball team and we went to state last year and just seeing the whole community come together is crazy and I just can’t wait to see that for softball too for the first time ever," Voigt said. "I think it also calms your nerves a little bit knowing that when you get to that point, everyone’s there to support you, they just want to watch a good game of softball and I think just having each others backs is the biggest thing."
The team plans to bring home more than just a title. They said they hope to continue to set the standard for this program in their state-trip for years to come.
“I hope this is something they can carry with them for the rest of their lives," Molina said. "You work hard all year to hopefully get to this point and I hope our seniors obviously remember this moment as they continue into their next steps. And then our underclassmen kind of carry that with them as we bring in new girls next year and hopefully continue to be competitive."
“It’s just another game," Voigt said. "We got to this point, that’s such a reward already, but let’s go win it now and just play it like any other game."
Bryan will face Circleville Logan Elm in the state semifinals on Friday, May 31 at 12:30 p.m. at Firestone Stadium in Akron.
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