The softball team began it’s season Saturday, Feb. 8 in Stephenville, Texas, against Northeastern State University.
The team won two of three games at the Tarleton State Tournament Saturday; the team won 6-4 against NSU and 7-5 against Tarleton State University. The team experienced its first loss of the season to Emporia State University in a 5-1 defeat Sunday afternoon.
Freshman infielder and catcher Kimmy Hendricks said despite an early defeat, the young team has maintained a positive attitude.
“I think one of the biggest challenges every team faces is pushing forward after a bad play or inning happens,” Hendricks said. “However, this weekend we proved to ourselves that we could do that. We kept our energy high and fought till the end.”
After the team’s first tournament, head coach Phil Berry reflected on the team’s preparation moving forward this season.
“We have placed our focus on what we can control – energy, enthusiasm and effort,” Berry said.”We believe that we are a very athletic and versatile team that has worked very hard to be fundamentally sound. We know that we are young, but we will learn from the mistakes that we do make and will grow together as we gain experience.”
Graduate assistant Mollie Mitchell said the team did well this past weekend and is ready for the rest of this season.
“I think there were a lot of positives that came out of it and I am really excited about the season,” Mitchell said. “They hit the ball really well.”
The team has started off on a high note, taking two of their first games last weekend at the Tarleton State University Tournament, but to Hendricks, their success means more than just the effort they put into practice.
“I think our key strength is faith; faith in God and faith in one another,” Hendricks said. “We know that we can’t accomplish our goals without God or each other. We are a faithful family.”
Both Berry and Hendricks expressed appreciation to the Harding community on the team’s behalf regarding the widespread reception the program has received so far.
“The support of the administration, faculty, staff, students and the community has been great so far,” Berry said. “Their encouragement and questions about our season have been very positive.Even though we play on the road our first two weekends, we know that our fans will be supporting us.”
The softball team will play a doubleheader at the Arkansas-Monticello Tournament starting today against Rockhurst University and Southwest Baptist University.
