Every young team goes through growing pains during the course of a season. Things may not go great all the time, which could really hinder the success of a young ball club.

Fortunately, the Marian softball team hasn't let those ups and downs get to it as it looks to be getting over its inexperience in the second half of the season.On Monday, the Fillies beat Division 3 rival Weatherly, 9-1. It was another big step in the right direction for the young Fillies, who improved to 8-5 overall and 5-3 in Schuylkill League play.Three Weatherly errors in the first inning were able to help Marian get out to a 1-0 lead. Miranda Antiga was able to score for the Fillies with Alex Stroia coming through with one of her two hits in the frame."A couple of funny things happened there and we made a few mistakes," said Weatherly coach Margaret Brown. "We definitely have to get off to a better start. The key for us is to be more aggressive at the plate. When the ball is in the strike zone we have to swing the bat. We can't let good pitches go."Marian certainly didn't let good pitches go by in the second and third inning, scoring five of its nine runs between those two innings.Mackenzie Joy broke the game open for the Fillies, knocking in two runs in the second with a double. Nicole Salerno added two RBIs in third with a double as well to give Marian a 5-0 lead after three."When I get up to the plate, I'm just thinking single, single, single, especially when my teammates are in scoring position," said Joy. "Today, I got a big hit and I was able to help out the team. You can see us getting better every game."Marian may have a young team overall, but they have a sure handed veteran arm on the mound that it can count on day in and day out.Senior Bethany Shaud had yet another impressive outing, going the distance, striking out 10 and allowing just three hits. Through all the Fillies growing pains Shaud has been the pillar of consistency, keeping them within striking distance of the postseason."It was a good day on the mound. I was glad I was able to help out my team," said Shaud. "The key for us today was that we got off to a good start. We've been struggling with that this season, so hopefully we can build off that and gain some momentum down the stretch."Marian added three more runs in the sixth. Kaitlin Kowker added two RBIs and Brianna Wimmer came through with an RBI in the inning.With the victory over Weatherly the Fillies are inching closer to the postseason. The challenge that faces Marian is one that challenges all the teams in the Times News area, which is that it has to play a ton of games in a short amount of time."The key for us is to build momentum," said Marian coach Joe DeAngelo. "We need to keep hitting the ball and get in a hitting groove. It's tough playing everyday and every team has to do it. The key for us is definitely hitting the ball consistently. If we can do that we should be very competitive."For Weatherly (5-6, 2-5 SL), Jess Maiello, Jess Polchin, and Jenna Bartel all had singles.Marian 132 030 0 - 9 11 2Weatherly 000 100 0 - 1 3 6Shaud and Salerno; Parker and Maiello; W - Shaud L - Parker.