I already wrote about Payton getting her first hit. Since then, she has six more hits. She scored her two runs, and picked up her first RBI. She also had a hit that did not count. We lost a game badly, and the other team agreed to keep playing another inning. Naturally she had a nice hit at that moment.
I may be biased here, but I think Payton had the most improvement from the first practice to her final game. She started the year putting minimal effort into her swing, or just tossing the ball lightly. After a bunch of strikeouts and seeing everyone else getting hits, she started working harder. We kept practicing in the yard, and the hits started coming.
But I have also noticed other changes in her play. When she is in the outfield, she pays attention and backs up the infielders when the ball is hit her way. The balls that have come to the outfield, she runs to it quickly and does her best to throw it in.
Hopefully she will want to continue practicing in the yard. If she does, I want to work on swinging harder. I think it would be good to get her hitting off the tee. Also, she still has a habit of stepping with the wrong foot when she throws. And playing catch. It is time to start catching the ball. There will be nothing better than when I have someone to play catch with in the yard.
Her final stats:
7 for 30 (.233 AVG). 2 R, 1 RBI, 19 Ks
