Softball is similar to baseball except with a few differences. The differences are that softball is pitched underhanded. Players use shorter bats and the ball is heavier and less dense. Softball is usually played by girls, but the rules and way to play are the same as baseball.

Tupelo High School has two softball teams, slow pitch and fast pitch. Slow pitch softball season is in progress now, while fast pitch season begins in February. The coaches are head coach Josh Hegwood and assistant coach Brittney Terry.

“Things have been up and down,” Hegwood said. “We’ve had games where we play pretty well and games where we haven’t. Over all it’s been a pretty productive season, but what we find most challenging about this season is consistency. So what we need to work on this year is hitting the ball better and scoring more runs but I can’t just filter it down to the players so even me as a coach can work on some things.”

Assistant coach Terry has her own view of the teams.

“The team has been playing pretty well defensively, but we’ve struggled offensively and we didn’t make the playoffs,” Terry said. “Of course there’s always struggles and obstacles to overcome and according to coach Terry “you can always work on something.”

When it comes down to the players, softball isn’t all that easy. Katie Rieves, a sophomore at THS who plays third base on the slow pitch softball team said, “We’ve won 10 games and everything is challenging, but we mostly need to work on hitting.”

Sophia Petruskevich, a junior on the softball team, said one challenging thing is that “We don’t win like we want to, but if we work on hitting better we could reach our goal. I learned that in softball theres not really a certain diet you should be on but, “drink lots of water and stay hydrated.”

Lauren Knight is a sophomore who pitches on the softball team.

“Before each game we hit and throw and stretch to get ready,” she said. “If it’s something you really want to do, you have to stick with it and put hard work into it.”