The Lady Bisons won 5-1 and lost by 1-5 against Arkansas Tech University (ATU) in their doubleheader on Tuesday, March 24.
The softball team had 12 hits in the first game, with runs coming from sophomore outfielder Courtney Derrick, senior utility Jessica Greene, sophomore infielder and outfielder Emily Jones, sophomore infielder Marley Edwards and senior pitcher Amber Rollins.
During the second game, ATU scored four times in the first inning. Harding did not score until the sixth inning, when sophomore outfielder and infielder Brookelynn Moon doubled to left center and scored Jones.
Even though the team lost the second game, Moon said she thought the team was not too discouraged.
“I thought (Tuesday’s) games were a huge step for us,” Moon said. “We are beginning to come together and compete like the team I know we are.”
The team will not compete against ATU again until April 7. The next four games for the Lady Bisons will be against the Rangers from Northwestern Oklahoma State University on March 29 and 30.
This will be the first time the Rangers will be on Harding’s home field in. According to head softball coach Phil Berry, the team is expecting the games to be different from previous ones.
“They have a new coach this year, so we will need to adjust to any differences in style from how they played last year,” Berry said. “We need to stay committed to process over outcome and take care of the things we control.”
The team’s leading hitter, sophomore Mackenzie Jones, said the team is putting in extra time outside of practices to prepare for the games. She said she hopes for this to improve the team’s chances of winning.
“My goal is just for the team to win,” Jones said. “It does not matter who gets the job done. Just as a team, (we need to) give it all we have got and try to pull out a win.”
Berry hopes to win the games against the Rangers by having the team do what they do best.
“For us, it is about getting quality starts in the circle, playing solid defense and staying within ourselves on offense,” Berry said. “When we do those things, we will be successful.”
