Written by Spencer Aiello // Photo by Balazs Balassa
The baseball and softball teams came back from spring break and began the longest part of the season with the push toward the conference tournament now looming over each team.
The Bisons played against Southern Arkansas University Saturday, March 4, kicking off their spring break losing the series against the Muleriders 2-1.
The team then played in Searcy for a single non-conference game against the Union University Bulldogs where they won 14-4 after seven innings.
The Bisons played the University of Arkansas at Monticello Weevils in their next three-game series. They swept the Weevils three games to none in Searcy, which moved their overall record to 17-6 and their conference record to 7-5.
The softball team also kicked off their spring break with games on March 4 against Southern Arkansas.
They won the first game of the doubleheader Saturday on a walk-off single in the eighth inning, winning 3-2 and winning the second game also on a walk-off. This walk-off came from sophomore Leigha Harris, who recorded her second home run of the season and led the Bisons to a 7-5 victory.
The Lady Bisons then won the third game of the series to complete the sweep.
Southern Arkansas at Monticello proved to be a tougher opponent as the Lady Bisons lost that series two games to one, putting their overall at 18-5 and their conference record at 6-3.
After coming back from break, the baseball team played against Southwestern Oklahoma State University March 18 in a three-game series.
The Bisons started off strong with a 16-5 win but lost the next two games 2-8 and 6-3, leaving them with an 18-8 overall record and an 8-7 conference record.
The softball team returned from their spring break to play against Arkansas Tech University March 14, sweeping the two-game series.
The Lady Bisons then traveled to Weatherford, Oklahoma, three days later and competed against Southwestern Oklahoma State in a three-game series, coming away with two wins and a loss. The team then split a two-game series with Delta State University on March 22. Their overall record improved to 24-7, and their conference record moved to 10-4.
Sophomore Morgan Greene said the softball team needs to keep pushing forward.
“We need to push ourselves to reach our goal,” Greene said. “The only people that can do it is us.”
Redshirt freshman Logan Lacey linked the baseball team’s success to their bond and relationship they have formed together off of the field.
“It’s the little things,” Lacey said. “Our Bible studies that we do together outside of practices or our team dinners or just simply hanging out at each other’s houses. I feel that chemistry reflects on the field how well we work together.”
The teams’ successes have also brought out more fans to both home games, including senior Collin Slatton.
“I think we can go farther with these teams than we could with many of our past teams,” Slatton said.
The Bisons are slated to play against Northwestern Oklahoma State University in a three-game series starting Friday, March 24, in Alva, Oklahoma.
The Lady Bisons will also play a three-game series against Northwestern Oklahoma State beginning Saturday, March 25, in Searcy.
