Simpson softball has been hitting a lot of home runs lately – 25 this season to be exact.

They have hit enough to be ranked No. 13 nationally, and the homers have helped them win games and break into the nation’s top 25 teams.

“I always think of it as a point in time where the hitter wins and the pitcher fails,” senior pitcher Riley Fisher said. “So a lot of the time I try to look at it like that when I’m at bat. When I hit a home run, I don’t necessarily look at it as if I succeeded but that the pitcher failed.”

Simpson can hit a lot of homers because they have more size and strength than other teams. Fisher said they would hit weighted balls in practice to work on driving through the ball instead of hitting it into the ground.

“Hitting a home run is the best feeling, and hitting a home run against Central is even better,” senior catcher Tori Haag said.

While Simpson’s players love hitting homers, they don’t usually celebrate as individuals.

Fisher said the team gathers around and celebrates with the batter when they cross home plate. The focus is on helping the team win games, not for individual glory, but an occasional Jose Bautista bat flip can be seen if the situation is right.

The team is driven by a large chip on their shoulders. They came into the season as an underdog because they lost their coach and some key players.

They are on a mission to prove the skeptics wrong and show that they are the real deal.

And by cracking the national top 25, they did just that.

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