After being quarantined at the start of the season, the Niles West girls softball team is glad to be back in action. The team is glad to be able to practice and play together again.

“It’s really nice for all of us to be back together again,” junior Emily Donovan said. “Since we only had a week of practice before we were quarantined, we didn’t get much practice, so it feels great to be back. We have all been very determined to get as many wins as we can.”

“It feels amazing! It was even better to come back with a win against a conference team,” senior Maddy Tan said. “I’m just happy to be back on the field playing with these amazing girls for my last year.”

Although not being able to practice at the start of the season may not have been ideal, the girls are ready to move on with the season and are hoping to get stronger — both as a team and individually.

“I would say our goal for this season is to be number one in our conference, because in the past three years I’ve played here we have always been in the middle standings, like fourth,” Tan said. “Another goal would be to win another regionals title and possibly get to sectionals.”

“The season has been really good,” sophomore Maggie Burns said. “We have to keep the D219 trophy and keep over 500. We also always want to push each other to do our best and pick each other up.”

The girls also have a few personal goals they would like to accomplish by the end of the season.

“By the end of the season, I’d like to throw four more people out catching and hit a homerun,” Donovan said.

Burns is looking forward to progressing as a person overall. “I want to grow as a player and a person,” Burns said. “I also want to hit one over the fence.”

“Personal goals I would say are to have a higher batting average and an on-base average than my previous years, so even though it’s a personal goal, it helps the team, too,” said Tan. “A mindset goal is to always give 100% effort once I step on the field.”

Overall, the girls on the softball team are excited to be back in full swing and have high hopes for the rest of the season. They currently stand at third place in their conference, and their next game is at Deerfield on Monday, May 10 at 4:45 pm.