A sea of pink littered the DAC earlier this afternoon as the Husky and Mustang softball program’s kicked off their first ever Pink Out Games in support of breast cancer. The players donned pink warm-up shirts and socks, donations were taken, cancer survivors were invited to attend and both teams signed a large banner designating who they were playing for that had breast cancer. According to head coach Kim White, for the first time the Pink Out was attempted, the night went great.

“[BVN head coach Ben] Sutherlin and I talked about doing it last year, but at the time it was his first year as a coach so he wanted to get a year under his belt before taking on the project,” White said. “Over the summer we talked and at the beginning of the season we [decided to do it]. He and I have gotten to be pretty good friends and we just thought why not just do something where we could come together as two schools for one cause and just enjoy it.”

According to sophomore Taryn Thomas, the Pink Out went really well and the teams were able to put aside rivalries and come together to support a good cause.

“I think it went really well and I think we earned a lot of money and support for a good cause,” Thomas said.

White said the programs raised around 350 dollars for breast cancer support from the raffle, which she believes is awesome since the coaches were not exactly sure what to expect from the first night. According to White the coaches decided to donate five dollars for every hit their team had. BVN earned 30 hits, therefore Sutherlin donated another 150 dollars and the Huskies donated 175 dollars for their 35 hits.

“I thought the kids really embraced what we were trying to do,” White said. ” … It was fun for us. We spend a lot of time talking about team and that there’s more to our program than just softball and I think tonight’s a great example that we’re wanting to do things for other people. I think that’s important.”

At the conclusion of the banner signing before the game, the two teams took the field for a double header. The Huskies continued their win streak against the Mustangs established last season and defeated BVN in both games, 14-7 and 15-7.

In both games, the Mustangs were able to keep the game close in the first few innings; but as the fourth and fifth innings approached the Huskies began to lengthen their lead substantially. According to Thomas and White, despite defensive mistakes, they were able to keep their lead due to the phenomenal hitting the Huskies experienced.

“We made some errors on defense that would have cost us if we hadn’t rallied and hit tremendously,” Thomas said. “I think the games went pretty well. They were a little rough, we made a few errors but that’s to be expected this early in the season. I think overall we all just came together and played together for two great wins.”

The Huskies totaled 35 hits with multiple doubles and triples on the offensive side. While the Huskies succeeded with their bats, both coach and player admit there were some errors that should not have happened.

“The thing I appreciate about this group is that they just keep playing, you know?” White said. “They get down a little bit and they come back, they get down and they come back. We just keep fighting through.

“They’re just a great group of kids. I’ve said all along they’re probably one of the greatest groups of human beings I’ve ever coached. They’re just great people, they care for each other and play for each other and they just stay up. We don’t get down. It’s really easy as a team to get down when the scoreboards not going well for you are you make some mistakes. We give up a couple runs, we get back those runs. I was really proud of their effort and that they just kept playing.”

White attributes this ability to move past mistakes quickly to the leadership on the team. Next week the team will take on Shawnee Heights HS whom White claims to be tough competition.

“I’d say the biggest thing we need to improve on is coming out in the first inning,” White said. “We’ve played four games so far this season, and in all four of them, defensively we’ve given up three or four runs in the first inning. So I think the big challenge for us is to come out strong defensively. I think if we can do that, good things will happen.”

According to White, she looks forward to continuing what she hopes to be a tradition of Pink Out in following years. The success of this first night coupled with success between the lines makes White excited for coming years.

“I just want to thank all the parents and players on both teams that came out and supported Pink Out night,” White said. “I’m really pumped for what the future holds.”