Lions’ softball dominated in their first four games of the season before being edged by No. 5 Southern Arkansas in a 15-14 game of the Southern Arkansas Tournament this past weekend.

The first winning game against Newman marked the first time the Lions had won their season opener, and the Lions had 11 hits, junior Baylea Higgs hitting 3 of 4 pitches. Two new Lion players, junior Mariah Jameyson and freshman Kinsie Hebler, each scored a homerun, and the Lions has 7 steals overall.

The Lions proved their worth again in a 6-2 win over Washburn, and they stole 8 games. Jameyson and Higgs had two RBIs each, and Jameyson along with junior Monica Cherry had two hits. Sophomore pitcher Courtnee Jones sealed the win with a good performance.

On the same day as their win against Washburn, the Lions won again against Newman, but Newman proved to be a harder opponent in this to-and-fro game. Newman scored first, but freshman Vanessa Avina scored off a steal from third base to tie it. However, Newman came back, and the score was 4-3 before the Lions pulled ahead to ensure the win.

The next day, the Lions rolled Washburn 8-3 though Washburn had an early lead at 3-2. Hebler secured the win with a three-run homer, and she also had five strikeouts and three runs on six hits. Overall, the top and bottom of the Lions’ batting order gave seven out of eight runs.

In the second game of the same day, the Lions met their match against Southern Arkansas. Southern Arkansas jumped into the lead in the first inning with a homer and a RBI single, but the Lions snapped back in the third inning with 2 RBI singles and a RBI double. In the same inning, Southern Arkansas responded with six runs, raising the score to 8-4. By the ninth inning, the Lions had jumped ahead again to 9-8. This back-and-forth game continued until Southern Arkansas scored three runs in the last inning to seal the victory 15-14.

Lions’ softball is 4-1 for the season, and they go to Clearwater, Florida this weekend to compete in the NFCA Lead-Off Classic. They will play five games, including No. 13 Valdosta State and No. 17 Saint Leo. Given how they played against Southern Arkansas, the Lions should prove to be tough adversaries in these games.