A double-header sweep saw nine Lady Lions combine for 22 hits on Wednesday against Alcorn State.
The Lady Lions won both games by way of the mercy-rule and now have rolled to a 24-16 record for the season.
Junior pitcher/designated player Jessie Browne recognized the struggles of last year’s squad as compared to the triumphs of this year’s team.
“It’s exciting to play for a winning program,” said Browne. “Every day it’s just fun.”
The Lady Lions pulled out a 10-1 victory in the early game before delivering a 10-0, 5-inning drubbing in the night match.
The night game saw 10 runs on just nine hits for Southeastern, while the Lady Lions managed 10 runs on 13 hits in the game earlier that day. Freshman outfielder Katie Lacour accounted for five of the 22 hits to raise her average to .439 for the season.
A major catalyst comes in the form of the revitalized pitching staff, which, according to head coach Pete Langlois, is a major factor of any softball team.
“In the game of softball, if you’re good in the circle you can win on any night,” said Langlois. “Kenna [Terry] and Rachael [Hellyer], they’ve been solid. And we’ve been able to throw Taylor [Bishop] and Kati Morse out there and been able to hang on to the lead and get strikeouts late in the game when we need it.”
However, while Browne’s presence has been recognized at the plate, her heart is still in the circle.
“I’d like to be pitching more, but it’s for the benefit of the team,” said Browne. “As long as we’re winning.”
Langlois credits experience as being the deciding factor in this year’s club.
“The biggest difference is that we’re veterans now,” said Langlois. “We played through the adversity from last year. Our record didn’t show it, but if you look across the diamond this year other than our DP and our third baseman we’re pretty much the same. We just matured.”
For senior outfielder Kelsey Nichols, watching freshmen such as Lacour and Amber Sather excel at the collegiate level has only added to the experience of her senior year.
“The freshmen are amazing this year,” said Nichols. “We knew coming in that some of the records would be broken. I’m really excited.”
Langlois stated that he knew at the start of the season that it could go either way.
“When you go out and have a tough year like last year, you either crumble or you get better,” said Langlois.  “And we got a lot better.”