2nd Inning woes ends the Lady Tigers early

The second inning is an inning of chipping off the shoulder of the first and coaxing one’s way into the homestretch. For Southern University’s softball team, the second inning brought back fruit as they led Texas Southern 6-0 in the series this past weekend, which led to their explosive 8-3 victory on the Lady Jaguar Field.
Off the bat, head coach John Garris was excited for the quality that the Lady Jaguars brought of the series against their adversary.
“This all attributes to great hitters as well as great pitchers,” said Garris.
Before then, Southern defeated Texas Southern 3-2 earlier that afternoon and Texas Southern lead the series when they beat Southern 1-2 on Friday, March 27.
In the second series of the doubleheader, Southern in the first inning had the bases loaded and eluded to the juggernaut angle for three easy points. With one out on the scoreboard, Texas Southern clocked a double play and ended their inning early.
At the top of the second inning, Southern ended Texas Southern early when they clocked them at their chance at first base and a pop fly.
Southern then cascaded the second inning, after outfielder Ambrelle Burton stole second and freshman outfielder, Syndey Andrews cracked a single, the first point attributed to an error after a double play by sophomore Amanda Pacheco. After Pacheco slid in safe, Southern picked up their second point. After the trepidation of scoring two runs so early within the game, Texas Southern pitcher Lauren Rodriguez was substituted for Samantha Jimenez. After the substitution, Southern slid in with another point when California native, Alicias Barajas came into home.
Southern concluded the second inning with two players on base and freshman heavy hitter, Jamani Greer, cracked the whip and sent the ball heading over the fence, finding a way into base, a way into home. Southern winded around the bases and concluded the second inning.
“Great plays can be made on the field when players are coachable and you have seen this here,” said Garris on the offensive effort in the second inning.
Texas Southern didn’t get a glimmer of hope until the top of the third inning when Brianna Simpson scored off an RBI by Brianna Parker and got a single point.
After their score, the Lady Jaguars hit three stalemate innings until the remainder of the game and in such, Southern attributed to two more runs in the sixth inning by Barajas and freshman catcher got a base to total the points for Southern to eight.
Texas Southern clocked in two more runs after their third inning stretch to obtain victory. On the top of the fourth inning, Krystalani Yockman sent a home run of her own over the field and calculated a second point. The last point was counted at the end of the seventh inning when Thomasina Garza scored off of an RBI by a single attributed by Yockman.
Southern (7-10, 4-3) advances in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and faces Grambling (3-17, 2-3) in a three game series on Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4 on the Lady Jaguar Field.
Approaching the rivals of Southern, Garris spoke on the drive that will need to continue down the road.
“The big thing is for our athletes is to push themselves every day and become better because the team after that and those after that will come for us,” said Garris.