Every two years, both the varsity softball and baseball teams travel to Myrtle Beach during spring break to play in tournaments. The softball team will participate in the tournament, The Grand Strand Softball Classic, with games starting on April 11th. 

   The players worked to fundraise money by selling cookie dough in the months leading up to the trip, to pay for traveling expenses and the cost for a house.

   They will be playing teams such as Beaver Area High School from Beaver, PA and Riverside High School from Painesville Township, OH. 

   “I’m really looking forward to playing teams that aren’t in our district, just to see the different competition,” senior Maddox Pleasants said. 

   The team has been working to improve specific skills before playing these new schools, such as team bonding exercises to completely prepare.

   “We just need to trust ourselves and have confidence,” junior Dara Sharpe said. “I feel like we lack that in a lot of areas, and once we get that down, we will exceed.”

   Since they will be playing one game everyday, they will have a large amount of free time. Coach Sharpe assigned captain Ali Downey as activities coordinator and she is working with Coach Wratchford on finding the best ways to spend their free time. 

   “I know things like attending a game at Coastal Carolina, a ropes course, putt putt and Medieval Times were just a few things on the list,” Coach Sharpe said. “We will see what they decided on in a couple of days.”

      The baseball team will also be participating in a tournament in Myrtle Beach called the Mingo Bay Tournament, with games also starting on April 11th. They will be playing one game everyday, Monday through Thursday. 

   Each player will be traveling to South Carolina on their own and staying in their individual hotel or house. The team hopes to find time to hang out on the beach, go to dinner, or find various new activities such as putt putt or spikeball to play.

   “I think it’s really going to bring the team closer together,” senior Ryan Toney said. “All of the guys at the beach for a week, it’s really going to make us bond.”

   The tournament will have close to 70 teams participating. With the level of competition increasing, Louisa will have to work even harder to win.

   “I hope the team plays well,” senior Alex Bradford said. “I think we should because we have a lot of pitchers and that’s really helpful in a four game tournament like this.”