A series of four softball games against Southern Arkansas University were canceled last weekend due to weather, bringing the total count to eight Great American Conference (GAC) conference games that the Lady Bisons will not have the opportunity to make up. In addition to losing chances to improve their GAC standings, the canceled games were also missed opportunities for the team to boost their confidence on their home field.
“(Canceled home games) make it more of an uphill climb to be successful in conference play since we will now play a vast majority of our conference games on the road,” head coach Phil Berry said. “Our players know that that is the hand that has been dealt to us and there is nothing we can do to control Mother Nature, so we are just going to go play that schedule and see what we can do to overcome those challenges.”
Amidst canceled conference games, the Lady Bisons played two non-conference opponents — sweeping Christian Brothers University (CBU) 10-3 and 6-1 over spring break and losing 4-1 and 11-7 to Delta State University (DSU) on Tuesday. Senior utilities player Jessica Greene attributed the wins over CBU partly to the Lady Bisons’ return to Searcy.
“Being in a familiar atmosphere makes it a lot easier to play,” Greene said. “We broke our losing streak and hopefully we can take that forward. There is pressure after every loss and it was helpful to get in a win.”
According to Berry, sophomores Mackenzie Jones, Kimmy Hendricks and Brooklyn Moon performed well at the plate against CBU, with Jones hitting two doubles and driving in three runs to put her as the leading hitter so far in the season. Tuesday’s double header against DSU brought Jones and junior Kinsey Beck their first home runs of the season.
Looking toward their upcoming conference series, Berry said the team plans to focus on their control, be patient and play smarter defensively while playing the University of Arkansas at Monticello this weekend.
“They (Monticello) is a are very well coached team and play well on their home field,” Berry said. “We were fortunate enough to win the series against them at home but we know they will be ready for us when we get there this weekend.”
Greene and Hendricks both agreed the team hopes to play well and bring home some wins this weekend. Hendricks said that amidst cancellations and losses the team has not been able to produce results true to their talent and that she is anxious for the team’s chance to prove itself.
“It’s really easy when you’re winning every game but the true test comes when adversity is thrown at you,” Hendricks said. “I believe we will rise up to the challenge. We just have to continue to persevere and be confident in the team that we know we are.”
