After a difficult loss to undefeated Damascus, the varsity softball team defeated Blake and Churchill to bring their record above .500, but losses to Springbrook and Richard Montgomery brought them back near the bottom of the standings..

The team faced a tough challenge to start the week, playing against the third-ranked softball team in Maryland, Damascus, on Mar. 25. Damascus has scored 60 runs so far this season to the Patriots 28. Although the girls put up a fight early, keeping it tied through two innings, Damascus ran away with the game in the third, scoring three runs en route to an 8-2 victory.

On Mar. 26 the girls went to the struggling Blake Bengals. The Patriots got out to an early lead and never looked back, winning convincingly, 13-7. Blake has not won a game this season although they hoped to change that against Damascus on Apr. 1.

One student was excited for the softball team’s future after the resounding win. “I love the energy they play with, and I think we might get to see some playoff games if they keep playing like this,” junior and avid fan Tony Ricciardella said.

The softball team’s dominance came to an end on Mar. 30, when the team faced a Springbrook team that allowed 44 runs by Wheaton in a blowout loss. The Patriots could not match this output, and lost in the seventh inning after a sacrifice fly put Springbrook up 4-3.

The team then played the Richard Montgomery Rockets at home on Apr. 1. Instead of rebounding from their loss against Springbrook, Patriots were blown out from the beginning, allowing three runs en route to a 9-2 loss. The Patriots only had four hits in the game, compared to the Rockets 20.

The Patriots looked to rebound as they play the Quince Orchard Cougars on Apr. 4. The Cougars have not struggled on the road, however, beating the Blair Blazers 12-2 at Blair. The week ended with a home game versus the Gaithersburg Trojans at home on Saturday. Gaithersburg has yet to win a road game this season. These games were too late to be included in this issue.