The softball team lost both games on a rainy Saturday, April 9, to split the four-game series with Texas A&M Commerce.

The team is now 6-7 on the new softball field turf, and even though this is considered a losing season, players like Amanda Thomas, sports and leisure sophomore, Peyton Helton, undecided freshman, as well as head coach, Brady Tigert, agree the turf is a step up.

“It’s been great [having the turf]. It’s actually made us better. We work harder on defense with it, which helps us in games. We’re blessed to have it,” Tigert said.

The first game was a 9-6 loss to Commerce. The team wasn’t gaining any traction for the first four innings, and they let Commerce score three times, while they only scored once. However, they were able to get offense going in the fifth, scoring five times on four hits, and one error.

It was looking like a win for the team, but Luci Ponce, infielder for Commerce, hit a grand slam to put Commerce up 7-6. Commerce also scored a two-run home run from Haley Colwell, which put them up 9-6. After that, nobody was able to score for either team, which lead to a win for Commerce.

The next game started off poor for MSU when Ponce hit a two-run home run in the first inning to put Commerce up 2-0. There was no score again until the bottom of the third, when Erin Knox hit a two-run homer to tie the game, 2-2. After that, the team couldn’t defend Commerce and they couldn’t hit consistently.

Ponce hit another home run in the top of the fifth, which sent three runners home and put them up 5-2. Magen Lynch hit a three-run home run in the fifth for Commerce as well, which gave them an 8-2 lead.

MSU scored off an RBI single from Baylee Voigt, which made it 8-3. It didn’t start any fire for the team, though, and that was the last score they had.

Commerce wasn’t done scoring. They got a run off an illegal pitch, a two RBI single, and a two-run home run in the seventh. This lead to a 13-3 loss for MSU.

Tigert said poor pitching was the reason for the loss.

“We didn’t pitch well. At times, the weather played a factor, but it wasn’t why we lost. We couldn’t make adjustments because we weren’t pitching well to begin with,” Tigert said.

Helton said the reason for the two-game loss was inconsistent hitting and a lack of confidence in the second game.

“I would just say that we couldn’t string over hits together. We hit, but we couldn’t put them all together. We also start down in the second game, which didn’t help,” Helton said.

Helton said the weather wasn’t the reason for the loss, but it did play a factor at times.

“At some points yes [the weather affected us]. It made it hard to grip the ball at times. Also, we haven’t played in the rain yet this season. You could tell it was a struggle, but it wasn’t too bad,” Helton said.

While this does give them a losing record on the turf, the players and coach don’t think the new turf is why they lost.

“The turf is fine. You do have to get used to it a bit, like with sliding. You have to slide earlier in weather like this or you may slide past the bag, but it doesn’t really hurt our game,” Thomas said.

Thomas said the ball generally comes off better on the turf. She said there are no uneven bounces on turf. Helton said that can some times be a bad thing though.

“Infield hits don’t bounce as high as they used to, so it doesn’t go over defenders’ heads, which was something to get used to,” Helton said.

While that was something different, she said that overall, the turf is an upgrade because it’s nicer to play on, and there is no cleanup after the game.

“We don’t have to rake or clean it up. We just have fun, play, and go home, which is nice,” Helton said.

Tigert also commented about the clean up, as well as Thomas’ statement about the ball bouncing evenly.

“I don’t have to work on it, there’s no excess maintenance. Also, you’re not getting bad hops. They stay down, which made players more comfortable, and more confident in catching the ball,” Tigert said.

The team still has one more series on the turf, which will be against Texas A&M Kingsville starting April 22.

LIST OF HOME GAMES:

Friday, April 22 at 4 p.m.

Friday, April 22 at 6 p.m.

Saturday, April 23 at 1 p.m.

Saturday, April 23 at 3 p.m.