After losing out on their spring softball season due to COVID-19, the softball team will get “One Last Game.” The idea started when a senior from Piper High School asked Midwest Sports Productions (MSP) if they would support an initiative to give the senior softball players in the area one last game. MSP enthusiastically said yes and immediately started reaching out to teams, Alexa DiSpirito, MSP marketing coordinator said.
“Honestly, we couldn’t have thought of a better way to honor the seniors ourselves, we were super excited for the senior to fulfill her idea of what she thought this event would look like,” DiSpirito said. “These seniors are so deserving of having that senior year experience, overall we were extremely excited to give these seniors the opportunity to have one last game.”
Kim White, the head varsity softball coach, said she was amazed at how one girl was able to start an event that would benefit 32 different teams.
“In this day and age, where people say ‘Oh I can’t make a difference’ or ‘Oh I’m just one person,’ I think this is a perfect example of one person having an idea and that idea when she contacted the right people turned out to be a really cool and unique opportunity for a lot of young ladies across Kansas,” White said.
Missing her senior softball season, Claire Koettker said this is a great opportunity to send the seniors off in style.
“It’s a cool opportunity for us seniors to have a true end to the season and to have fun together one last time before we go our separate ways,” Koettker said.
Senior CaiLyn Nye said she is excited for the opportunity to play for the Huskies one last time.
“Honestly it means everything because it gives me one last chance to play with my best friends and play under coach White before I go to college,” Nye said.
When thinking about the Husky softball program and its virtues, rising junior Lindsay Farthing said she has always pictured the 2020 senior class as examples.
“Whenever people talk about Husky softball or the program, I envision this senior class so it’s going to be weird to realize they won’t be there anymore,” Farthing said. “It’s going to be really sad afterwards but I think it’s going to bring us all together as a team since we didn’t really get the chance during the season.”
While White said she is known for being a coach that likes to win, she said the result doesn’t matter to her Wednesday. She said it’s just about having fun and honoring the seniors.
“The ‘One Last Game’ is not going to be about the outcome, it’s going to be about the experience and the opportunity in allowing our team to be together one last time,” White said. “The girls will tell you I don’t like to lose but I don’t care about the outcome of this game, I just want it to be about the experience for the kids and the parents.”
The game will be played on Wednesday, June 24th at 9:00 a.m. on field 19 at the Blue Valley Recreation Sports Complex.