By Will Brown
Sports Editor
The Millsaps softball team opened their season at the beginning of February and so far the team has won five of their first six games.
The Majors began their season by sweeping Louisiana College in a home doubleheader, winning the first game 7-1 and the second game 9-1.
“We had tons and tons of energy on the field,” Head Coach Erin Clary said following the opening weekend wins. “We have a very tight knit group off the field and you could see that pay off and benefit us on the field. Everyone was having fun.”
Clary was encouraged by the team’s performance during their opening weekend.
“The thing I saw that was encouraging was that our offense and base running was able to put a lot of pressure on the defense” Clary said. “That is something we have talked about all preseason and it made a huge difference in the game.”
A doubleheader against Huntingdon College originally scheduled for February 10 was postponed and rescheduled to March 18, but Millsaps faced Mississippi University for Women in a doubleheader the following day. They won the first game 12-1, but lost the second game 7-2. This weekend, the Majors went 2-0 in the Piedmont Classic in Demorest, GA with wins over Piedmont College and Averett University.
Coach Clary said that the biggest challenge the softball team will face this season is their lack of experience.
“We are very young, we have a lot of freshmen starting on the field and we need to go out there and get the experience,” Clary said. “We need to learn from our mistakes and the only way to get that experience is to work through those issues on the field.”
Despite the inexperience, Senior Second Base Runner Blair Little says that the team’s freshmen are very athletic and smart about the game.
“We are quick on the bases and in sync on the field so energy is always high,” Little said. Little believes that the team’s biggest challenge this year will be competing in a difficult conference.
“I think the biggest challenge will be the game winning moments,” Little said. “We have a tough conference and it is going to be a battle throughout the season and leading to the conference tournament to see how well we work together. We need to put pressure on the other teams.”
Both Clary and Little agree that this year’s team is different than previous teams due to their energy and team chemistry. “We’ve spent a lot of time on our culture and spent a lot of time and energy into the culture of our program, and we’ve seen the benefits of that,” Clary said. “I think that is the difference maker.”
“We have a great group of girls they are energetic and outgoing and it is awesome to see that on and off the field. As a senior, it will be great to take in the memories, experiences, and friendships we make along the season” Little said. “Our goal is to win the conference and get team tattoos.”