Co-written with Ash Delias

The Pirates came out wearing pinstripes and solid black long sleeves and socks ready to brace the cold, wind, and of course the East Texas Baptist Tigers on the chilly afternoon of Sunday February 18. The Pirates and Tigers played a short, two game series in which the Tigers shut out the Pirates, winning both games (8-0, 10-0). ts. 

After their warm up, the girls put their gloves down by the fence and circled up for a pre-game prayer. 

“The girls placed third last year, so when we found out that we were picked to place third again this year, it felt appropriate,” said Head Coach Lynn. SU’s softball team is part of the SCAC (Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) Although the ETBU Tigers are not in the same conference,  hopefully all the girls’ hard work and pre-game rituals such as the prayer circle, would allow the girls to defeat them in this pre-season matchup. 

Madison Vela #25 opened the game with her starting pitch. Vela faced off her first batter, Tiger’s #22 Tristan Maddox. She threw a variety of pitches, skillfully trying to deceive the batter. However,  Maddox managed to hit a flyball in between second basemen and right fielder. After a dropped ball, Maddox advanced to second base. Vela then walked the next batter, resulting in runners on both first and second base. Finally, the Tiger’s third batter hit a ground ball to short-stop, allowing the Pirates to force an out at third base.

 However, the next Tiger batted a double allowing another teammate to score the Tiger’s first run of the game. 

All the bases were loaded, however the Pirates managed to stave off more Tiger runs and closed the top of the first  with an out on a  ground ball; the Tigers’ closed the top of the inning with 2 runs.

When it was looking like a shutdown for the Pirates first inning after many unsuccessful at-bats, first-basemen and #28 McCarthy managed to hit a single. The next batter, catcher and #12 Samantha Saenz, managed to draw out a walk from the pitcher. This gave the Pirates hope in gaining a run from this but it was quickly put out when their next batter hit a pop fly to first base. The first inning of the first game finished off Tigers leading 0-2

Stepping into the new inning, the Pirates stepped out on the field, ready for what the Tiger hit them. East Texas’s batters found the sweet spot and got on base from their hits. They managed to advance their runners and score some more leading (SCORE). 

The Pirates struggled to maintain their defense however still managed  to end the Tiger’s run streaks, leaving the score 0-5. 

The Pirates came back to the third inning with renewed determination. During the inning, the Pirates switched out their pitchers, and freshman Sophia Ytuarte started throwing a couple warm up pitches. This briefly threw the Tigers off but nevertheless, they still managed to hit off Ytuarte. But the Pirates were able to get the batters out. With two outs and bases loaded, the Tiger’s batter hit the ball to third baseman Brooke Yanta, where she was able to get the out unassisted.

Despite Southwestern’s defensive performance, they were still unable to hit past Trinity’s defense. During the fourth inning, both teams tightened their defense, not allowing the other to score. In the top of the fifth inning, the Pirates got an out before there was a switch for their pitcher. Senior Hailey Arrington took the mound and quickly warmed up. The Tigers were not fazed by this switch and managed to hit deep balls to the outfield. The game ended in the top of the fifth inning due to a run rule. The ETBU Tigers won 8-0. Both teams gathered in a circle, discussing their performances, before breaking off and getting a quick snack. 

“Every coach has their own ways when it comes to creating the batting line up,” said Lynn when asked about her process. “For me, I like to have a high on-base percentage and so I’d put our fastest players towards the top and bottom of the line up and our heavy hitters in the middle.”

Coach Lynn’s batting process came to life during the bottom of the seventh inning in the last game. The sister duo Jodi and Riley Glenn-Millhouse made an exciting play in the tail end of the series.

Outfielder #3 Jodi Glenn-Millhouse was a key player in the double-header. She is now one for two, one reaching on an error. Besides McCarthy, Riley Glenn-Millhouse and #41 Alexandria Wiley gave the Pirates’ only other official hits in the ETBU series. 

The Pirates ultimately lost to the Tigers in their double-header game. However, some of the Pirates were able to gain some stats to their career. Meghan McCarthy was able to lead the Pirates with 3 hits out of a total of 5 at-bats. In the second game, pitcher Jaden Wheeler had two strikeouts in the four innings she pitched. The Pirates’ current record is 0-4 overall and is set to face another double-header against McCurry on February 23rd.