Gainesville Lady Bulldogs end season at 13-9
The Gainesville Lady Bulldogs softball team ended the fall season with a 13-9 record after a 5-1 loss to the Hartville Lady Eagles in the Class 2 District 1 tournament held at Hartville on Tuesday, Oct. 12. “ I knew it was going to be a tough job when the umpire started calling to a spot instead of a zone,” said Gainesville coach Joe Walrath. “You always want an umpire to have a zone, not a spot, but we will leave it at that. The girls played a hard game and hit the ball well. It was just right at people.”
The season was one of great strides for the Gainesville girls, who are a young team with only three seniors – Gwendolyn Broderick, Hallee Donley and Debra Winrod. “I asked the girls what their goals were at the beginning of the fall,” Walrath said. “Trying to have a .500 season was a big one, winning something besides a consolation trophy was another one, playing competitive against teams who had always beat them in the past, and winning a district.
The girls went 13-9, took one second-place and two third-place trophies home, and beat teams they hadn’t beaten in a long time. “Yes we fell short on the district, but for a team that finished 3-16 last year, three out of four isn’t bad,” Walrath said. “I’m very proud of my girls.”