Freshman Sydney Trapp made the winning catch against the No. 8, Corvallis Spartans, which led the No. 9 ranked La Salle Falcons to the next round of playoffs. Being a freshman on a team that is predominantly upperclassmen, Trapp describes this accomplishment as her “biggest success in her softball career so far.”

Growing up around the sport, Trapp followed in her sister’s footsteps of being an avid softball player and started off her high school career strong, landing a spot on the varsity team at La Salle during her freshman year. At four years old, her dad pushed her to try out softball and ever since then she has loved the sport and looked up to her dad and sister for inspiration. 

A typical softball practice for the Falcons starts with an hour of hitting in the batting cages, then practicing infield and outfield, then running the bases. Trapp’s favorite position is center field but she consistently works to improve her hitting and mental toughness in the field. “I just want to be better for myself because, you know, I may miss a ball in the outfield but then that motivates me for the next time to run a little bit harder or practice harder,” Trapp said.

While playing softball for La Salle, she also competes on a club team for the Oregon Rebels and previously the Eastside Rough Riders. She describes a significant difference between club and school softball with the school team being a more fast-paced game that is more enjoyable. 

According to Trapp, a good team is a group that can practice hard while staying focused and celebrating each other’s achievements as well as having fun off the field. One of her teammates — junior Clara Hudson — whom she describes as the team’s “energy manager” also brings everyone up. 

An accomplishment Trapp has had on the La Salle team was recently being awarded with the second honors award for outfield, “I felt really good about myself. It kind of made me [feel] a little bit of a confidence booster,” Trapp said. “Then I also wanted to prove [to] them [that] maybe next year I deserve first.” 

Although Trapp has three seasons left to represent the Falcons softball team, she hopes to go as far as playing in college to further her career in the future. As much as she loves softball, her number one priority is school. Her favorite course is Honors Geometry, which she transferred to mid-semester from regular Geometry. She focuses on managing her time and balancing her workload by not procrastinating to ensure that she is on top of both school and softball.

Outside of all the stress that she is faced with being a varsity athlete, Trapp enjoys hanging out with her friends and family in her free time to relax. 

Jumping into high school and onto a varsity team, she has experienced great success but also challenges that come along with a high school sport. She explained towards the middle of the season, the team was on a losing streak and had lost morale but after a team meeting, they quickly bounced back and began playing together instead of individually. 

Over the summer, Trapp will continue to work hard and play softball for the Oregon Rebels, having tournaments on numerous weekends all around Oregon.

The Falcons girls softball team finished off their season ranked #9 with a loss against Dallas in the playoffs and although it was their last game all together, Trapp was optimistic that even with a loss, the team had a strong season.