For the love of the game: Freshman softball 3rd baseman brings passion

The sun beats down onto the baseball diamond as De Anza College’s softball team practices for the next game. Among the players is third baseman Katie Failner, 19, graphic design major, who’s in her first season with the team.

 
“I just love the game,” Failner said. “I love hitting, I like competing with a team and just like working well together, that’s always when I’m having the most fun.”

 
Failner has been playing softball for most of her life.

 
“My mom was a big softball player so she just put me in when I was younger, you know? It was kinda the thing where kids play every single sport when they’re little….[I’ve been playing] my whole life; since I was like five or six years old,” Failner said.

 
Failner has accumulated many fond memories throughout the years while playing, but she recalls one in particular.

 
“Probably the first time I won a tournament on my travel-ball team. Because I never played on good teams and we always lost, so when we first won it was like the biggest deal,” Failner said. “My mom was my coach, so like it was really deserving when we got that win. That was definitely my favorite.”

Like most sports, however, her softball career has been filled with ups and downs.

 
“In the middle of my junior year I had a conflict with my high school coach, and it prevented me from continuing my season that year and the following year. This is my first year back,” Failner said. “I used to play year round, but that kind of stopped me from playing softball all together; so it’s been a challenge kinda getting back into shape and getting into the swing of things.”

 
Failner looks up to a few softball players, notably University of Oklahoma’s Lauren Chamberlain.

 
“She was known for her hitting, and I’m pretty sure she had the most home runs in all of NCAA,” Failner said. “Like, I find that awesome, because it’s really hard to stay consistent with your hitting. I find it really cool that she could not only be consistent, but be home run consistent, which is amazing.”

 
Despite a rough start to this season, Failner said she remains sure the team will continue to give it their all.

 
“We’re kinda rocky right now,” she said, “but I’m hoping that we’re just gonna keep moving forward as a team and just keep working really hard to get to where we know we can be and have a successful season.

 
“[We’ll] be satisfied with what we did, even if the numbers don’t show it. We’ll know that we did our best out there and that’s all we could do.”