There has always been a lot of speculation that women cannot compete in sports. Or that women’s sports are boring to watch and not exhilarating or entertaining enough to please our needy society. That is definitely not always the case.
There are things that women athletes can do that any man would not be able to touch. Like a baseball player trying to hit a fast-pitch softball rise ball. This year, the college softball world series saw some of the best softball athletes.
Weber State University’s softball season is over. This was their second-ever season as a sanctioned NCAA team. WSU has not had the greatest record in their two seasons. But that is OK. They have been improving. Something most people don’t know is that our Wildcats competed against the national softball champions.
WSU won a total of 12 games all season. The team is still in the infant stages of life. It is like a baby, growing and learning at a rapid pace. The members are rookies when it comes to collegiate sports. They are still learning war and battle strategies. We can’t expect a baby to win a national championship. We are asking a ton for a simple conference championship, but WSU is trying.
The Women’s College World Series ended this last week. Arizona State University won, dominating the entire series. This is the second world series title ASU has earned. ASU outscored the University of Florida in the final series 21-6. ASU also became the third-ever championship team to go error-free at the championship game.
Clearly, ASU is not an infant softball team. They are veterans in the collegiate softball war and experts in battle strategy. They have been in a lot of battles and wars and came out on top multiple times. They have demonstrated their superior status.
ASU pitcher Dallas Esobedo was the first freshman in 20 years to win the title- clinching game since 1990. She also stuck out UF’s Kelsey Burder to finish off the game. ASU became the fourth team ever to earn multiple championship titles.
With all of the amazing accomplishments ASU has under its belt, I would be wondering how our very own Wildcats fared against the champions. Well, the answer to that is “not so well.” The Wildcats lost 12-0 in five innings.
Even in the early stages of the collegiate softball season, ASU stood out. ASU deserved to win the title. They have been fun to watch all year long. Any one person to ever compete against ASU should feel honored. If that person is a Wildcat, she should feel proud that she lost to ASU by about the same point difference as UF did in the championship game.
Shout-out to the Wildcats for the mass improvement on the season and for actually competing against a world series champion. If anything, the infant Wildkittens can look at the Sun Devils and be proud. They can look at their elders and learn from their example; that way, our kittens can become fierce Wildcat champions — eventually.