Crouching behind home plate before every pitch, catcher and senior Lauren Godden focuses in on her game as she plans to lead the team to another victory. The softball team will step up and play in the first round of the Sectional on Monday at Cherry Tree Elementary School against North Central.

For Godden, the Sectional is just another event in which she and her team compete. She said as long as the team focuses on its game plan it can work hard for the State title. With eight seniors leading the team, she said it is vital that the team works as one.

“We are really unified, which is different than previous years. The seniors have really come together. We all have a common goal, to win State. And we all want it really bad this year,” Godden said.

Along with Godden, Celene Funke, third baseman and sophomore, said she  is excited for the Sectional.

“I think we will do well this year. We have been successful in previous tournaments we played in this year, and the team is working really well together. Everyone knows their roles and is doing what they need to do for the better of the team,” Funke said.

According to both Godden and Funke, the team had a rough start as it started off the season 3-4, but the team began finding success mid-season. The girls said they are pulling together their team chemistry and team goals in order to find success in the Sectional.

“The season started off a little rough  but we turned it around and we are planning to make a run for the State title this year,” Godden said.

During the preseason, the team did more conditioning which, according to Godden, has put the team a step up from other teams. Along with adding more conditioning, the team began practicing as a unit.

Head Coach Emily Good said, “We put a lot of stress on the off-season and we started stressing team unity early October. We have started a Carmel tradition and the team has really bought into it. The team unity is really strong right now.”

As the team prepared for the Sectional, Good said the girls had to master a few skills but are ready to compete.

She also said that even when the team isn’t at its highest point, the players manage to find a way to succeed. Godden said the girls have to improve their defense, but that their strong offense will help them put themselves above the other teams they face as they move into the tournament season.

“We had to focus on getting our defense on the same page, but now that we have we are prepared and should be successful in the Sectional,” Godden said.

Godden said the most crucial team goals are taking ownership and putting the team above individual goals. Along with that, Good said the team had to take every opportunity it had to work on making each individual girl feel comfortable on the field.

“Throughout the season our biggest focus was taking one game at a time and preparing the girls for the Sectional tournament. A big goal has always been playing our best by the time we got into the Sectional. We are more than prepared for the tournament,” Good said.