WEIMAR — Just after Brenham ended Elgin’s promising softball season, head coach Amanda Wolf quickly found Megan Moore — her lone senior — and hugged her.
Moore was then greeted by each of her teammates.
One by one, they each gave their captain a hug and said their emotional goodbye.“These kids are special,” Wolf said. “They are still winners and role models. People still need to look up to these kids.”
This isn’t the way the final chapter of Elgin’s 2010 season was supposed to be written.
No one expected the Lady Cats to finish on a six-game losing streak.
No one expected them to implode after Kaci Olson went down with an injury she sustained on April 9 while sliding into third base against Del Valle.
To have it all end this way was unthinkable.
“You know, the same thing happened in volleyball,” Wolf said. “(The volleyball team) won a district title and lost  in the first round of the playoffs. I think that made coach (Hollie) Smith’s team better and I think this will make us better.”
Elgin has a lot to look forward to next year.
The loss of Moore will be a big hit, but the Lady Cats return 13 players from this year’s team.
Elgin will have more experience at the plate. Olson will be back to expand the role she played this year to perfection.
Pitcher Sarah Johnson will be back to dominate the mound and freshman star Lauren Slatten will also be back to give Elgin another weapon on the mound.
Leading hitters Hillary Adams and Shelbi Swenson will both return to provide the power at the plate.
Needless to say, the Lady Cats will be OK.
“Next season we start all over,” Wolf said. “We learned a good lesson from all of this and it’s something we will take into next season.”
For a group of girls that has seen nothing, but success since they played T-ball, the disappointing end to the season will be fuel for next year.
“We move to a new region and new district next year,” Wolf said. “With three seniors and six juniors on next year’s team, anything is possible.”