The Tempe Preparatory Academy Knights held their heads high in their debut against the Northwest Christian School Crusaders on Wednesday.

The Knights lost 38-4 to the Crusaders, but that did not stop them from finishing strong. Senior Allena De Soto-Facio led the team and scored the first run of the season in the first inning.

The Knights scored three runs in the final inning by senior Jacqueline Risch and the freshmen sisters Vangi Birnbaum and Eliana Birnbaum.

“If I sit on that bucket and stop coaching, they’ll know I’ve given up, so I’ve got to coach until the end," head coach Rick Sharp said. "I’m proud we put those four runs on the board. Those four runs I think we earned."

Sharp emphasized several “deer in the headlights” moments, but granted that some adjustments are to be made after their first game. 

The Knights walked away from their performance with their heads up. Sharp is ready to train his team to become better softball players, no matter the amount of wins or losses.

“You’re looking at a team that's not sitting there crying about the score. They’re excited about playing softball,” Sharp said.

De Soto-Facio also had her mind set on having fun during the game.

“This was supposed to be one of the best teams in the state and we did not set big expectations at all. We were just like ‘Let’s go, and if we win or lose, let’s have fun!” De Soto-Facio said.

Freshman pitcher Naomi Palmer had playful banter with catcher De Soto-Facio all game long. Pitch after pitch, the duo made sure one another was in sync and performing at their best.

“You need a healthy balance of seriousness and playfulness,” Palmer said. “I’ve got to lighten up a little bit because if I take it so seriously, I’m going to pitch a bad ball. It’s going to get in my head and my entire game is going to go down the drain.”

“And the more upset you get when playing a game, the worse the game is going to go,” De Soto-Facio said.

The energy was high from start to finish. The Knights continued to encourage each other and were cheering on their teammates hit after hit.

"I think today’s game was just about having fun, but we’re going to get better through the season and our games are going to improve,” Palmer said.