Trial and Tribulation Weekend: Southern sneaks one in at home

Due to threatening weather conditions the softball games were postponed from Thursday to the weekend, however that did not stop the softball team from getting the job done.
On Saturday April 2, the softball team took on inner conference rivals Jackson State at Southern University in back to back games. The first game was nothing less than complete domination for the Lady Jaguars’ softball team. Their defense held Jackson state to zero. The softball team made sure to capitalize when they were up at bat.
Freshman Shauna Knighten began the scoring when she was able to score a run to give Southern the first lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. All hope for Jackson State to make a comeback was devastated when sophomore catcher, who was once a SWAC hitter of the week, Kiara Suttles stepped to the plate and hit a home run, and brought in another player in the bottom of the sixth inning. After that quick home run, there was nothing left for Jackson State and the Lady Jaguars’ softball team was able to come away with the win, with a score of 3-0.
The Lady Jags only had a short amount of time to celebrate their hard earned victory until they had to step up and play Jackson State again. With out having a longer break the softball team was still feeling the effects of the previous game.
The beginning of the game started off action packed when the freshman Ryann Hollis was able to give her team the lead with a score of 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning.
The Lady Jags were able to maintain the league for just a short period of time. Jackson State came back in the top of the third inning to tie the score back up at 2-2. However, 2 more runs were scored at the bottom of the third for the Lady Jags, which gave them, back the lead with a score of 4-2. Unfortunately, that was the last to runs to ever make it for the Lady Jags, and they suffered a close lost to Jackson State, by a final score of 4-6.
Freshman infielder, Ryann Hollis stated, “We took a big step as far as coming together as a team and creating a positive atmosphere on the field. Everyone was supportive of each other and did the little things right.”
To add to what Hollis stated freshman pitcher Tiara Scott said, “We played well. There was a major improvement in our fundamentals and as a team we stayed together in both games regardless of whatever was going on. This weekend was a stepping stone for our growth, not only as individuals, but as a team.”
The Lady Jags are set to take on Texas Southern in Houston Texas, April 8 – 9.