The Lady Bisons softball team went 0-4 in four games at the Eckerd Invitational in Florida last week.
Head coach Phil Berry said despite the losses these games were great competition and will help prepare the team for conference play.
“The first year of the program, expectations were hard to manage, there was nothing to compare because we had no history,” Berry said. “We took the attitude that everything we did was going to be a first, whether it was the first practice, the first game, the first hit or the first home run.”
According to Berry, the team wants to push forward and not make excuses for the program’s lack of history.
“In our second campaign, we’re going to go the second mile, we’re going to go further, harder,” Berry said. “We’re challenging ourselves to be better to try and build up on last year instead of saying, ‘we’ve arrived, and we’re done.'”
He encourages the team to not be satisfied with last year, but to be motivated to take it the second mile.
Sophomore catcher Kimmy Hendricks said the tournament was a good experience and looks forward to more.
“Tournaments are a big chance to get a lot of games under your belt and to get back into the swing of things,” Hendricks said. “I hope we can face good competition that will push us to a new level and that we can take that into conference play.”
According to Hendricks, the team has progressed because of experience, thus making them relaxed and confident.
Senior infielder Kinsey Beck shared the team’s slogan: “Winning is a habit, win the day.”
Although the Bisons ultimately struggled in the Florida tournament (0-4), Beck said that results like that only drive them to work harder. The Lady Bisons next home game is Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. against Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
