Imagine being the only senior left standing; the only senior that has endured all four years on the softball team. For Grace Tolstedt, this is reality. The class of 2018 started their freshman year with five players, and those numbers dwindled until only one remained.

“I believe there were about five of us my freshman year, and by my junior year I was the only one left in my class playing softball.”

Normally, seniors  have the support of other seniors on the team to help give the right wisdom and to help in leading the team in the right direction. But, for Grace Tolstedt, she is the only senior left standing on the field.

The past two seasons have been a great success for Grace. She has been a great asset to the Alliance High School softball team. This season, is the last one that Grace will ever have with the team. It is her chance to shine brighter than she has ever before. With 503 total strikeouts and 22 total wins, Grace is already off to a great start.

Grace being the only senior means that at the end of the year, she will be the only one saying goodbye to the team, and the only one for the rest of the team to miss next year.

Grace has not always had the most success in her early years as a player. There were many changes that went on before she came to the team, and she has been able to see the result of those changes. But in the end, they were all good and helped the team succeed.

“I have experienced many failures as shown by the records my freshman and sophomore year.  We only won one game each of those years. Also, it was really hard to come up short at districts last year with 3rd place.  I have had success in that the team really powered through last year, ending with a record for wins in a season.  I have also been successful in that I have been 2nd in class B state for strikeouts the past two years.”

While she may have the most experience, she still relies on her fellow teammates to make sure that the team is a success. The juniors are a huge help in leading the team and making sure that the team has all of its bases covered.

“I do look to the juniors for help, we actually have 5 team captains and essentially we act as the seniors on a team would ” state’s Grace.

This year the softball girls  may only be saying goodbye to one senior, but that one senior is a very important member of the team. No matter what, the team will hopefully continue to have a great season and strive to be the best that they can be. Here is to a great year for the Alliance Lady Bulldogs Softball, and to Grace Tolstedt for making her last year count.