Despite a brutal schedule, which has included several Top 20 ranked opponents, the Riverside Brookfield softball team has won 12 of 16 games and accrued some mental toughness along the way. However, RB coach Dan Hull feels his players still can strive to “be like Mike” to fully develop their team identity. Mike, of course, is Chicago Bulls legend and hoops savant Michael Jordan.

“When you play tough teams like we have, you learn a lot and build confidence,” Hull said “It’s like in pro basketball. There are a million guys who can play, but only a few like Michael Jordan and Larry Bird who truly understand the game. Some of our girls may play over 100 games, but they still need to understand the ‘why’ of things in softball.”

Last week, RB (12-4, 3-0 Metro Suburban Conference) reinforced their clarity by winning four out of five games behind strong pitching from Emma Forsberg (7-1) and a balanced offensive attack.

“I’m happy with our performance,” Hull said. “The kids are playing hard and keeping a positive attitude.”

Samantha Maas (3-3) kicked off the productive week by tossing a complete game one-hitter to lead the Bulldogs to a 4-0 win over York. Jessie Hutchens (2 RBIs) and Lindsey Hayes (RBI) sparked the RB offense which totaled seven hits on the afternoon.

On April 17, the Bulldogs cranked out 13 hits to overwhelm conference rival Ridgewood 8-0. Maas and Hayes (HR, 3 RBIs) went 3-for-3 along with a home run blast by April Hutchens. Forsberg (7-1) fanned seven batters to earn the victory.

The next day, RB made it two in a row over the Rebels coming back from a 5-0 deficit to pull out a 7-5 win. Jessie Hutchens and Hayes both smashed home runs to finish the rally off in grand fashion. RB completed the three-game sweep of Ridgewood on Thursday with a 4-3 victory, scoring an unearned run in the eighth inning.

“We played awesome all week until Friday [5-4 loss to Trinity],” Hull said. “I felt we were better than Trinity, but you have to give them credit. They made some spectacular plays defensively. It just wasn’t meant to be for us.”

During the aforementioned loss to the Blazers, RB held an early 3-0 lead before surrendering five runs in a nightmarish fifth inning which featured a combination of errors, walks and a hit batter.

Emily Landa was the winning pitcher for Trinity (8-4). Emily LeDoux paced the Blazers’ offense with two RBIs.

“I was devastated after the [Trinity] loss, but we also have had some close wins which could have just as easily been losses,” Hull reasoned. “We’re playing well, but honestly we’re still up and down with our performance. Consistency is the key. If you’re consistent, you’re going to win games.”

Offensively, the Bulldogs have several hitters consistently reaching base. April Hutchens leads the team with a .415 average followed by her sister, Jessie (.380), Forsberg (.342), Hayes (.325), Rachel Buccieri (.312) and Jaimie Duffek (.306).

Ryan Fallon, Ali Durec and Rachel James have played well when given opportunities, according to Hull.

“I’m trying to get more kids in off our bench,” Hull said. “Some of them can really be good. They just need more playing time.”