From striking out opposing hitters to slicing line drives into the outfield—after all of the hard work and effort she has put into the sport— these are the things you would see on a normal day on the field for junior Rebecca Carson, who is one of the many talented players on Shorewood’s softball team.

Carson has been involved with the sport for as long as she can remember. With her family introducing her to baseball at a young age, Carson was able to get an early jump into softball. 

“I have been playing softball since I was 5. Both of my brothers and my dad played baseball so that’s what made me want to play,” said Carson. She continues to return to the sport every year to play with some of her closest friends and make new memories.

Outside of balancing her school work and time on the Shorewood softball team, Carson plays for another select softball team. “Select is a bit more competitive and you play at a higher level,” said Carson, “whereas the Shorewood team is full of girls with all different skill sets.” The difference in skill level and competitive nature of the league allows Carson to improve and perfect her skills outside of her school team.

Back on the Shorewood field, Carson is quite the versatile player being a pitcher with fielding skills and excellent batting.

In addition to pitching, Carson also frequently plays first base. By watching her teammates, Carson is motivated to try new positions. “I just saw older girls pitch and it looked fun so it inspired me to start pitching,” she said. Carson is always looking up to her other teammates, especially the seniors that are leaders on the team. “I definitely look up to Mia Battle. She is the hardest working person on the team and she always has the best attitude,” Carson mentioned.

As a competitor, Carson is always looking to improve on her game and push herself to be the best player she can be.

Carson sets goals for herself before the season starts so that she can challenge herself and develop as a player. Her goal this season was to hit over a .365 batting average—her total last season —and she accomplished it by hitting for an astounding .500 batting average, meaning exactly half of her at-bats resulted in a hit.

Shorewood’s softball team finished the season with a 10-3 record but with COVID restrictions there were no district or state level games to qualify for. The girls were expectedly bummed out by this, but Carson added that their team goal this season was to beat Meadowdale, a school they defeated twice during the season resulting in final scores of 8-7 and 5-4.

Carson still has her senior year to play for Shorewood, and hopefully next year she will be able to experience a normal season again. As for Carson’s future in softball? She wants to keep at it. Said Carson: “I want to continue playing for my select team and I would love to play in college.”