As the Morgan girls’ softball season approached, they were faced with a dilemma. They no longer had a pitcher or catcher. Their catcher, Sam Way, left to start college, and their pitcher, Brianna Sposa, moved to a different school.

Not knowing what to do, they started offering the positions to members of the team. At a meeting at the beginning of the season, they were able to find some people to step up into the positions and start training.

Several players stepped up, including senior Alyssa Ruthstrom, sophomore Arielys Gonzalez, and freshman Audra Ruggiero. A new edition was also added to the team, sophomore Trinity Benson, who came from East Haven.

Ruthstrom, being the main varsity pitcher, had to get used to the change. First base is the position she played all her life, from when she was five to her senior year. However, when she was asked to pitch, she knew she had to push through even if sometimes she didn’t want to.“It feels really good doing something for my team, and I know we need someone,” said Ruthstrom.

Stepping up, Ruthstrom knew she was going to have challenges. Her biggest challenge is finding the correct release point and finding where to put it. It’s mentally challenging for her, going from ball to ball till she can finally find that release point. Prior to pitching, Ruthstrom never took time to think about how tiring it could be to be a pitcher.

But she is slowly learning how to adapt. Knowing she can get in her head when the coach calls a timeout, she uses it to her advantage. Having “Zen” moments, she calls them, she takes time to breathe and clear her head before continuing again. These moments are important to her because they help her take a moment for herself and really focus on the game.

While the pitchers all had experience in the game before, the catchers, on the other hand, had none. Junior Whittney Treubig and sophomore Katrina Harris stepped up to the plate to learn. Treubig took on the position of varsity catcher, never catching before in her life.

Treubig, playing since age five, only ever played infield positions and outfield. But she had an idea of what she was walking into, growing up watching her brother in the catcher position. But she underestimated how hard it would really be. She had to adjust to the position and learn how to stop the balls from getting by her.

In the beginning, she wanted to quit and didn’t know if she wanted to continue after a scrimmage against O’Brien Tech. After balls kept going by her, she was slowly losing confidence in herself. But she pushed past that and started to enjoy learning the new position. “I enjoy learning the aspect of it because I feel like once I start getting good at something, I actually start enjoying it,” said Treubig.

Getting in her own head was also a challenge for Treubig. When she knew she wasn’t doing her best and knew she could do better, she would get down on herself. But she had to push herself and work hard to be there for her team. “I wanted to step up and help out with the team, and I’m happy I did that,” said Treubig

Both Treubig and Ruthstrom stepped up into a big position and are getting better every day they practice; they are both happy that they stepped up to help the team.

With the season coming to an end, Ruthstrom is getting ready for her senior night on May 13th against Portland. The team’s last game is on the 21st against Haddam Killingworth.