One Austin senior got more than her fair share of softball experience this summer when she played in the 50-team USSSA 16B National Tournament in Kansas City.

Sydney Murphy played as a member of the 16U Rochester Royals in the tournament and her squad won the tournament.

Murphy, who was locked in at catcher for most of the spring with the Austin Packers, was able to play shortstop with the Royals and she was able to get a lot chances to hit.

“It was awesome and it was really fun,” Murphy said. “The summer is important because you get a lot more at bats and you get more experience. It’s better than the spring, because you don’t always get to play in the spring [due to weather]. The more you play, the better you are.”

Murphy, who also plays soccer and basketball for the Packers, is hoping that she can play softball at the college level. Her experience this summer gave her a decent chance at doing just that.

“I think I improved a lot in my batting and I think I’m more confident in my at-bats and at shortstop now,” Murphy said. “I got closer to being able to play at the college level this year.”

The Austin softball team will have a new head coach this spring as Al Eckmann takes over at the helm. Murphy is looking forward to seeing what that will mean for the team.

“He’s a really good coach,” she said. “I think everybody’s excited.”