CHESAPEAKE, VA (WTKR) — It would be hard to find somebody who has invested more in Western Branch softball than Sarah Wright.
Her time with the Bruins began as a player, patrolling the field for the school from 1992-1995.
"We went to the playoffs every year, played under a great coach," she recalled. "I went to college and played and came back and now it's really cool to be back at my alma mater all this time."
30 years after graduating, she's back in the dugout as Western Branch's head coach. Wright took over the team in 2004 and has spent the last two decades guiding the program, both on and off the field.
"It's been fun to be around that long and now I'm coaching kids whose moms I coached," she smiled. "That's pretty unique."
"She's picking us up," added Bruins' senior infielder Maddie LeMasters. "She handles a lot of stuff off the field for us. She just puts in a lot of extra work that she doesn't have to do and that's what just makes her a great coach."
The latest triumph for Western Branch came last Friday, as the Bruins topped Glen Allen to claim the Region 6A crown. It marked the program's first region title in 20 years, a sign of how the Bruins have grown under Wright's leadership.
"I won a regional championship when I was in high school," the head coach noted. "It's nice to be on the opposite end of that and I'm really excited. It feels really good."
"She's grown with us and we've grown with her," junior shortstop Marissa Bernheimer pointed out. "Just knowing that she's really taken it to hear this year and that we're focused on winning state champs for her, it's just a big deal."
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Now the Bruins hope to climb a little bit higher, higher than the program ever has before. After winning their state quarterfinal contest Tuesday, Western Branch is two victories away from it's first softball state championship.
"Everybody in the lineup has been producing," said LeMasters. "If we just keep the mentality that we've had, I think our confidence is soaring."
"I'm trying not to expect too much, but I know if they go out there and do what they've been doing all season long that we have a really good chance," Wright added. "It would just be really awesome to do that for the school for the first time."
It's a group that's already slugged and hurled its way to some amazing moments this season. Western Branch holds a record of 22-3 and now the Bruins hope they can pick up those two more wins and celebrate on the field together one last time.
"It would just be surreal," the head coach said. "Since the start of the season, I knew this group was special and to feel that we've come all this way and we're this close, it's just amazing."
First up for Western Branch is James Madison in the Class 6 state semifinals. First pitch is set for 10:00 AM Friday at Glen Allen High School.
