After a two-year hiatus, being back on the field is a win in itself for Ana Gold and the Ballston Spa softball team.

“Being able to get a chance to play, I know all of us are going to play our hearts our, play as hard as we can and just win as many games as possible,” Gold said of the upcoming season.

Winning is something that goes hand-in-hand with Ballston Spa. But the last time they took the field, it was a 3-0 loss to Williamsville East in the 2019 state championship.

And the Scotties never got a chance to get back there in 2020 because the season was canceled.

What You Need To Know

  • The spring sports season is taking off at full steam in the Capital Region

  • The Ballston Spa softball team is ready to make up for lost time

  • Senior Ana Gold is relishing her final season with Ballston Spa

“We were so ready last year to go out and hopefully win states," Gold said. "I would definitely say we were robbed of that because we only had two seniors graduate from our 2019 state championship team.”

“That was probably going to be the best team ever to come through here,” coach Amanda Fifield added.

The pain of missing out is all fuel to the fire for Gold, who will continue her career at Duke next year. She is drawing inspiration from her bother, Luke, who is emerging as one of the best players on Boston College’s baseball team.

“Being able to see the stuff that he does, he’s definitely the biggest inspiration for me, and just knowing that I’ll be capable of doing something like that, maybe not to that extent,” Gold said.

“They’re a product of how hard they work," Fifield added. "They work year-round. Constant. Ana spent an extra 45 minutes a day here after practice working on ground balls. You’re only as good as you are by doing the work they do. I’m looking forward to seeing what she can do this senior year and then when she goes on to Duke after this.”

With state championships off the board again this year, Gold and the Scotties have their eye on one thing: a Section II championship.

“Ana’s words were, 'That’s like our state championship this year,' " Fifield said. "That’s our goal.”

“It definitely fuels our whole team, us girls and the coaches,” senior Julia Russell added.

“We’re like sisters, basically, and having Coach [Fifield] ... this is my fifth year, I’ve built such a strong relationship with her. That’s definitely something I’m going to miss,” Gold said.