By Sports editor, Brian Hoffman
Three William Byrd girls will be competing in two nights of softball games for 2020 seniors at the Arnold Burton Complex fields in Salem next week. Games will be held on Monday and Tuesday at 7 pm.
The fields at Arnold Burton are located on the Roanoke Boulevard in Salem, but Roanoke County is in charge of maintaining and scheduling the site. They’re across the street from East Salem Elementary School and just before the Veterans Hospital if you’re driving toward Roanoke.
“Doug Blount of the Roanoke County Parks and Recreation Department did us a big favor,” said Kassie Brammer, a William Byrd assistant coach who has been organizing the games. “We had a tough time finding a spot but he stepped up.”
A total of 48 girls have signed up, including William Byrd graduates Lexi Powell, Bri Hodges and Kami Kilinski. The seniors will be split into four teams of 12 for 7 pm games on Monday and Tuesday, to be played concurrently. A “Senior Ceremony” will be held at 5:45 pm on Monday, and when that’s finished the girls will split up and play on two fields at 7 pm.
“All the girls will be honored together so they can be with their teammates,” said Brammer. “We split up the teams by position so there was no guarantee that all the girls from the same school would be on the same team.”
The four teams will wear shirts with their names and number on the back. The four different shirts will be black, red, navy or gray with a common logo on the front. The teams will not be known until the first night of games, and it won’t be a tournament format for the second night.
“It will be a predetermined schedule,” said Brammer. “This isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about giving the girls another chance to get out on the ballfield and have fun.”
