The softball team will take on the Dumas Demonettes at 2 p.m. in Dumas Friday, April 14.

The softball team competed against the Palo Duro Lady Dons Tuesday, April 11. The Lady Dons held the Lady Eagles scoreless until the third inning, where the Lady Eagles achieved a 21-0 run to defeat the Lady Dons in five innings. The Lady Eagles have run-ruled every team in district play, excluding the Randall Raiders, who they defeated 8-6 Friday, April 7. Junior Kyra Lair has played on the varsity team since her freshman year. This season, she has a batting average of .435 and has participated in every game this season.

“Everybody wants to beat us,” Lair said. “They are going to play their best game against us, and we have to come out and play every single game like it matters.”

Last year, the Lady Eagles beat the school playoff record after qualifying for the regional finals.

“We have the motivation,” senior Sarah Bell said. “We know how good we can be based on how far we went last year. I think we have that drive. Winning state is going to be hard, but we can do it.”

Bell played on the junior varsity team her freshman and sophomore years and said the experience on JV has helped her become a leader on varsity.

“There are several seniors who have been on varsity all four years, but I came up last year from JV,” Bell said. “There is a big gap between varsity and JV. I think the experience in mental strength has helped me overcome a couple years on JV, which has provided me with the leadership to step up and get the job done on varsity.”

Bell has not participated in most of the season because of a strained rotator cuff and tendonitis in three parts of her shoulder, including her labrum.

“I had really high expectations for my batting average and on base percentage,” Bell said. “I wanted to bat at least 500 for the overall season, and right now I am below that, because of injury. I am recovering from that. I think if I step up, I can meet my goals.”

Lair is the starting pitcher for the Lady Eagles, and said she undergoes a lot of pressure when leading the defense.

“As a pitcher, I set the pace of the game,” Lair said. “If I am not playing well, my defense won’t play well, but if I am throwing strikes they are going to do whatever it takes to help me.”

Lair said her individual goal for this year is to break the strikeout record of 238 in one season. She currently has 130 strikeouts.

“We have run-ruled a lot of teams,” Lair said. “We have overcome a lot of adversity. We want to go to state this year, and prove our mental toughness and not make as many errors.”

The majority of the varsity team has been playing with and against each other since they were five years old on various club teams.

“We know how to work as a unit, instead of individually trying to figure out each other’s weaknesses and strengths out,” Bell said. “We already know what we can work on and what we have to step up to take care of teammates.”

Bell said the team’s main goal is to win the UIL state title.

“We want to go to state, and we want to win it,” Bell said. “I think we have a lot of potential to get that done. If we come out and play our game, then we have a really good chance of making it to state.”