The Lady Lions (2-14) could not manage to hold an early lead Wednesday against the Southern Lady Jaguars (3-6), dropping the contest 12-4.

The Lady Lions broke the silence early when a base hit by junior outfielder Kelsey Nichols drove in junior infielder Katie Doyle. With the bases still loaded, Lady Jaguars pitcher Gabrielle McDaniel hit senior catcher Trish Bliss, scoring junior first baseman Ariell Van Hook.

The Lady Jaguars scored their first run of the game in the top of the second. In the bottom half of the second, junior outfielder Michelle Duhe reached on a fielder’s choice, then stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Sophomore second baseman Megan McCollum hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Duhe and putting the Lady Lions up 3-1.

The top of the third marked the end for sophomore pitcher Jessie Browne, after surrendering two runs and leaving the bases loaded while failing to retire a batter. Senior pitcher Vicki Honeycutt came on in relief to stop the bleeding, but on a ground ball back to the pitcher, threw the ball wide of first base, allowing all four runners to score, giving the Lady Jaguars a 7-4 lead.

“[Browne] was struggling on the mound, had a couple of wild pitches, and we were afraid she was going to give up a pass ball,” said head coach Pete Langlois.  “Vicki [Honeycutt] had done such a good job in relief, we thought she could go out and get a couple fly balls. Of course, had it worked it would have been the right decision, but it didn’t work, so it was the wrong decision. “

The Lady Lions tacked on one more run in the bottom of the third, but Honeycutt gave up five runs, including a three run home run, to set the final score at 12-4.

The Lady Lions are on a six game losing streak, but have played 16 games since Feb. 11.

“You run out and play your tournament games, tune up games, Wednesday night games and we would be good to go,” said Langlois. “But we haven’t been real taxed. We haven’t had a lot of real tough, tough match ups.”

Langlois predicts that things will turn around with a little bit of luck.

“We just need a lucky break,” said Langlois. “We have to have someone hit a home run, a grand slam, a triple, something that gets us a win.”