The regular season came to a close this week for Navarre’s softball team and while the season has not been a smooth one all the way through, Navarre head coach Kelly Hayes can’t fault her team for the effort it has put forth.

Hard work has paid off for five Navarre High School student-athletes.

Soccer players Mariah McKinney, Kayla Folse, Gianna Bly and Cat Baccarini, along with volleyball standout Shelby Freese, signed national letters of intent Wednesday afternoon.

Sometimes a batter keeps swinging and the hits don’t come. The ball instead falls into the glove of an outfielder or smacks into the mitt of the catcher as the hitter swings and misses on strike three.

Everyone has a reason for trying out something new. Khiara Newton’s reason for attempting to pole vault during her freshman season at Navarre is a pretty simple one.