File photo/The Lion's Roar
The Lady Lions softball team has been playing on the road this past week. They had mixed results in those games. They won both their games against Alcorn State, but they lost all three games at Nicholls.
“I thought that the team did a phenomenal job at Alcorn with two good road wins,” said softball Head Coach Rick Fremin. “We got some really good pitching, and we played great defense as well. As far as the games at Nicholls State, two of the three games were really tough losses. We played extremely aggressive and did a great job of swinging the bat offensively to produce runs. We have to do a better job of just cleaning up our defense in those tight conference games in order to take the series.”
The wins at Alcorn State and the losses at Nicholls suggest the team is improving away from home.
“We’re becoming a better road team, and I believe we’re getting better every time we play,” said Fremin. “They’re getting a lot more acclimated to the Southland Conference and understanding how things are done in three game series whether it be at home or on the road. I believe our best ball is ahead of us towards the end of the season. So, that’s encouraging.”
Tuesday, Mar. 21, which also marked Fremin’s birthday, saw Lady Lions performed well in both their games against Alcorn State. In their first game, junior pitchers Lacey Hill and Rachel Hayes produced a complete-game shutout as they won 2-0. The second game of the day was led by sophomore shortstop Jaquelyn Ramon with three hits, while freshman outfielder Mattie Ort and junior outfielder Kalyn Watts drove in two runs to post a 6-1 victory.
Watts continued hitting well in the games against Nicholls. On Friday, Mar. 24, Watts hit two home runs. One in each game for the Lady Lions. Despite showing a great fight, the team lost the games 9-1 and 4-3.
“Kalyn Watts has been seeing the ball very well lately,” said Fremin. “We’re really proud of her. We adjusted some things offensively for her, and she has made those adjustments and it’s really contributed to her success.”
The third game of the series with Nicholls had it all. There were 22 hits, eight errors and four lead changes. The teams also had to go through a four-hour plus rain delay. In the game, Ort led the Lady Lions with two runs scored. They also had contributions from Watts and junior infielder Alli Daigle with each of them driving in two runs. However, the team lost the game 9-7.
Fremin was happy to see standout performances from various players on the team.
“Well, it takes a team to win a ball game and to win a championship,” said Fremin. “It’s gonna take a team to put things together in order for us to reach the Southland Conference Tournament, which I feel is still in our future. So, I think it’s great that a number of different players are receiving attention for their performances.”
The Lady Lions now have a 14-18 overall record. They will look to better their record as they play Lamar at home in a three-game series which starts on Friday, Mar. 31 at 4 p.m.
“We’re gonna have a tough three game series at home this weekend against Lamar,” said Fremin. “They’re undefeated in the conference. They have a very good program. So, we look forward to hosting them at Southeastern and representing the athletic department with a good series.”
Nikisun Shrestha/The Lion’s Roar
