The Magazine Lady Rattlers softball team had no idea when they stepped onto the field in Danville on March 12 to take on the Lady Little Johns, that it would be their last. The 2020 season barely had time to get off the ground before it was canceled due to Covid-19. The Lady Rattlers had two players hit the hardest with the loss of the season and that was seniors Taryn Leslie and Hope Canada. The girls along with their teammates did manage to get four games in before news broke of the cancelation. Magazine finished with a 1-3 record in the 2A-4 conference. Their win came from a 15-0 blowout against County Line.
“I felt like we had a good chance to make the top four this year along with making Regionals and a chance to go on to State,” expressed coach, Buck Chappell. “There are a few eighth-graders moving up that may make an impact on our 2021 softball season. With this athletic dead period, I am hoping that the girls continue to work at home just throwing with parents or siblings. If they have the means to do some hitting that makes all the difference.”
With Hackett, Danville, and Hector leaving the conference, the 2A-4 will be adding Mansfield, Acorn, and New School to the mix. “It will be a tough conference next year but I feel like we will have enough experience to do something great. We knew Hackett was going to be the team to beat this season and we should have won the Danville conference game but a few too many errors cost us the victory.”
From here, the Lady Rattlers will continue making the best of this situation while also staying focused on next season’s goals. “I told the girls when this happened that it is what it is and now is the time to be safe and spend time with family. Go outside, do things together, and enjoy the time you have with your loved ones.” As for how Coach Chappell is handling the downtime, “With the nice weather, I’ve had time to work on my honey-do list. My place hasn’t looked this good in years! We are continuing to pray for those that are sick and hope this goes away soon.”
