Two time All-Southland Conference junior infielder Kinsey Nichols  finished the game with two RBI’s and scored a run . Only former LSU Eunice junior outfielder Maddie Edmonston had a better game scoring three runs and a home run.
Elizabeth Brown/The Lion's Roar

Thirteen newcomers are now a part of the Lady Lions softball team. An eight-game fall schedule is underway to help these newcomers and their returning teammates get better acquainted and to get on the field experience. 

“We’re allowed to play eight games [in the fall] so we always want to try and play a full eight if we can,” said Head Softball Coach Rick Fremin. “There’s nothing like game experience. We can come out here and practice all fall, but the gaming experience and having the pressure on, seeing live pitching, those are all bonuses of us playing the games, so that’s why we try and maximize it with the eight games.” 

Leading up to the preseason, the 13 newcomers, seven of which are previously from the junior college level, were selected based on their skills, according to Fremin. 

“Their athleticism is one thing,” said Fremin. “Their speed, their competitiveness, but as far as the transfers, there’s seven of them, all seven have either played for a national championship or won a national championship in the last two years with their junior college programs, so they already know how to win, and that was a big draw for us.”

These new Lady Lions, alongside their veteran teammates, were able to show their skills in the beginning of the eight-game fall schedule. For the preseason opener on Wednesday, Sept. 28, the team went up against LSU Eunice where junior outfielder Maddie Edmonston dominated the game by scoring three runs, one of which was a solo home run. As a newcomer, Edmonston also was playing against her former team in this game.

“It was really weird just seeing everyone and not being in that uniform since I played two years there, but I was excited to be a Lady Lion and I just wanted to do good for my team,” said Edmonston. “It was a new team, new coaches, so I knew that I needed to prove myself, and I guess just knowing that and wanting to do good for my team, I just had some confidence and did what I needed to do.”

Junior outfielder Kinsey Nichols followed shortly behind Edmonston with a triple, two runs batted in and a run scored. Junior infielder Mahalia Gibson also finished with an RBI. After this 5-1 victory, the Lady Lions continued to dominate with a 13-7 win against Pearl River Community College on Saturday, Oct. 1. Later that same day, the Lady Lions went head to head with Louisiana State University, Alexandria for a close victory of 3-2. The Lady Lions were pushed down offensively until the bottom of the sixth inning at 0-2 when Nichols made it to home plate, putting the team at 1-2. Shortly after in the bottom of the seventh inning, freshman outfielder Mattie Ort made it to home plate, evening out the score 2-2. Following this, sophomore outfielder and utility player Jaquelyn Ramon stole for second base and another steal for third. With Edmonston at the plate and hitting into the outfield, Ramon prepared for reaching home plate. The game finished with a final score of 3-2. 

“Having a team stand behind me is what really drives me,” said Ramon. “It really helps when you have people that can come through and believe in yourself and others, and so I just felt really good. We didn’t start off good, but we picked it up and gave it everything we had in the last inning so the feeling of crossing home plate was a great feeling.”

The Lady Lions will continue their eight-game schedule on Friday, Oct. 7 against Bishop State Community College and Jones County Junior College at North Oak Park. 

Seven Lady Lions pitchers kept LSU Eunice to only one run  as they defeated all three of their preseason opponents last week. Sophomore pitcher Caitlyn VanHemelryck threw two shutout innings to help the team to victory. 
Elizabeth Brown/The Lion's Roar

The Lady Lions did some heavy recruiting in the offseason. 13 new players will be using this preseason to blend with the six veterans from last season. 
Elizabeth Brown/The Lion's Roar