How North Valleys softball becomes the school's first state championship team

It's one thing to be the first softball team at your school to win a state title, but how about being the first team sport to win state in the school's history? The 2023 North Valleys Panthers softball team accomplished just that by winning the Northern and State 3A titles this month, winning the first state title since the school opened in 2001. The team, led by head coach Eric McCuskey and players Staci Davis and Karli Klein, joined NSN Daily this week to recap the historic season.

"We've got a good group of girls and they know the game," McCuskey said. "They really know the game. They did what they needed to do and they pulled it off. That's all on them. We had private conversations away from the girls saying, 'If any team is going to do it, this is the team. With them, they've just got to play their game. They've got to stay loose.' I did tell them, 'If you play your game, no one can beat you. There's not a team out here who can beat you.'"

The Panthers went 27-3 overall and 15-0 in the Northern 3A West division. The only team to take down the Panthers was Lowry, which beat them three times in six games. North Valleys beat Lowry in the regional title and state championship games. Davis shared what the team did before the second matchup last week that led to the win.

"We just kind of all sat together," Davis said. "We all sat in a circle and held hands and told personal goals, team goals and just kind of bonded as a team going into the game. So we had a lot more confidence playing them the third time than we did playing them the first time. It feels like we all went into state and into regionals with a goal, and it feels great to just actually achieve the goal and coming back to school people know what we did. I feel like softball always gets overlooked sometimes at schools, but now it's like we just brought home a state championship, so everybody's into softball now."

North Valleys scored at least 10 runs in 22 of its 30 games this season with one of the state's most powerful offenses. McCuskey shared how his players and their chemistry on the field and base paths were all they needed to be this successful.

"It's kind of a little surreal," McCuskey said. "These girls are exceptional. We don't use signs. We tried and it didn't work. We were halfway through an inning, and I'm like, 'All right, we're going to throw the signs away and just play your game.' They make the decisions, they make the calls when they bunt. I'm just as surprised as the opposing team when they run a pickoff play. The umpires asked, 'Do you guys practice that?' I'm like, 'I've never seen that.' They talk amongst themselves. They're the ones who motivate themselves. They're exceptional players and we're very lucky to have them at our school right now. They've bonded together. They pick each other up when people are down. They are really amazing young ladies. It's all them."

You can watch the full interview below.