Elliott Greisen is a Masters student at ASU Cronkite School of Journalism assigned to cover Camelback High School for AZpreps365.com

PHOENIX–The grass is cut, the peanuts and crackerjacks are set out and this weekend the Camelback Spartans softball team stepped onto the diamond as a part of the Carl Hayden Falcon Softball invitational at Cezar Chavez Park. 

Camelback went 3-2 in their preseason tournament. The Spartans tackled the Tempe Buffaloes 4-1 on Thursday evening, the Washington Rams 6-3 on Friday evening, and the Metro Tech Knights 15-2 on Saturday afternoon. Camelback dropped games to the North Mustangs 7-2 and the Apollo Hawks 9-2 on Saturday. 

This is coach Kelley Melrose’s third year as head coach of the Spartans. Melrose's enthusiasm and passion for her kids, many of whom had not played softball before high school or had been away from the game for a while, is palpable. 

Melrose is looking to build on last year when the Spartans finished 5-7, losing a close game late to keep them from finishing at 6-6.  

Last weekend's tournament provided opportunities for coaches to see their teams in action against a variety of opponents after a long break from normal play due to COVID. 

Three takeaways from this tournament: 

1. The Spartans are mentally tough.

Camelback showcased the ability to stay cool under pressure. On Thursday their bus was late getting them to the tournament site. Camelback did not let that phase them, showing up just five minutes before their scheduled game. After stranding a runner in scoring position in the first, they came back in the top of the second and batted around, scoring six runs to put the game out of reach. 

“There is no better group of kids to have that happen to,” coach Melrose said. "They are just loose and ready to go have fun.” 

2. The Spartans are full of grit.

While Camelback may not be chock-full of club-grown talent, Melrose does have a group of tough girls. They were able to keep most of the balls hit in the infield in front of them all tournament long, making teams like Apollo, who have more experienced and talented players,  work for all their runs. 

Keeping the ball in front of them kept those hard-hit grounders singles, as opposed to being stretched into doubles. 

Camelback played with Apollo through two innings and if it wasn’t for a spectacular play by the Hawks shortstop to catch a hard-hit line drive the score would not have been so lopsided. 

They showed real grit staying with a much more talented team. 

3. The Spartans have some pop.

Camelback had a run differential of plus-six and was hitting the ball well. The Spartans punished Metro-Tech, scoring 15 runs in the bottom of the first, batting around three times, and amassing a whopping seven hits, including two base-clearing doubles. 

The Spartans also had a very good bottom of the second against the Washington Rams, hitting two home runs and two singles to put together a six-run inning.

Overall, the Spartans were patient, working the count to get that perfect pitch or take the walk. Camelback was able to draw at least 15 walks during the tournament. Nine of those walks would eventually score. 

Camelback's ability to be patient at the plate was very apparent during the game against the Knights where they faced some questionable pitching. Pitches sailed all over the place, but instead of getting impatient and swinging at bad pitches, the Spartans stayed disciplined and took the walks that were given to them.   

This Camelback team looks promising and should put together a good season. They were able to keep from losing by double digits even against a more talented team like Apollo and were able to hang double digits on the Knights. 

This year should be a good one for the Spartans and they open up regular season play at home against the Independence Patriots this Monday at 3:45 pm.