By Bria Irizarry
Twitter: @daathletics
Instagram: @dacavsathletics
This week’s Performance of the Week puts a spotlight on Durham Academy’s varsity softball team. On Friday, the Cavs faced the visiting Saints of Saint Mary’s School and started off the game with some solid defensive play. Ninth-graders Jaden Read and Emerson Windram provided significant support in the outfield, catching two Saints hits before closing out the second inning. At the top of the third, Read again found the ball in the outfield, and this time she connected with junior Holly Wilcox to complete a double play in favor of Durham Academy.
Ninth-grader Maya Patel led off in the bottom of the third inning, propelling a strong comeback by the Cavs. When Wilcox stepped up to bat, she hit a deep shot into the right field to score an in-the-park grand slam.
“Rounding second, I finally realized that I could make it home,” Wilcox said. “And in that moment, I realized that my ambition to hit a home run was finally fulfilled in the form of this grand slam, the first I had ever had.”
Windram, Read and junior Elliott Cochran all touched home ahead of Wilcox, and the Cavs eventually earned two more runs before the end of the contest.
Head coach Emily Jansen and assistant coach Courtney Monahan were both proud and excited about the team’s performance and feel that the group as a whole has been willing to step out of their comfort zones.
“They are pushing themselves and they know where to go with the ball,” Jansen said. “We are looking forward to building on some more complex topics and seeing the players grow more and more competitive.”
Wilcox has seen a lot of improvement from the team throughout the season. Despite having many new players this year, she feels they are reaching their goals.
“My favorite part of our team is our players,” Wilcox said. “Everyone is kind, enthusiastic and always eager to improve. We keep a positive attitude during our games no matter the score.”
DA softball returns to the mound Friday, hosting the Knights of North Raleigh Christian Academy at 4:30 p.m.
Keeping Up with the Cavs
As always, you can keep up with the Cavs on Durham Academy’s website and the Durham Academy App (available on the Apple App Store).
- For a list of all teams, their schedules and directions to games, visit www.da.org/teams.
- Click on an individual team to subscribe to automatic alerts about athletics results, postponements and cancellations, calendar and athletic event reminders.
- All information about the daily athletics schedule is also available on DA’s Athletics Hotline: 919-489-2534 (ext. 5).
The DA App: Schedules and Results
- The DA App allows you to keep up with athletics wherever you are. You can download the app from iTunes at http://bit.ly/DACavaliers. The DA App pulls athletics content directly from the DA website and delivers it to iOS-based devices including iPhone and iPad.
- The Athletics portion of the DA App (after launching, click Menu, then click Athletics to open) features results of recent games, a list of upcoming contests and team records.