SW softball has up, down week

After dispatching College Heights last Tuesday in a 4-2 ballgame, the Southwest Lady Trojans fought to a fifth place finish in the Seneca Tournament on Saturday.

With a disappointing loss to Jasper to open the tournament, the Lady Trojans rebounded to earn victories over Diamond and Ash Grove.

The win over the Lady Wildcats marked the first time the Southwest seniors had beaten Diamond.

"We had good pitching, great defense, and did just enough offensively," said Southwest coach Tony Eagleburger.

Against Ash Grove, the Lady Trojans played "pick-me-up" ball as they enjoyed the 5-1 victory. Vanessa Glaze went to the plate twice with two outs, and her two hits knocked in three of Southwest's five runs.

"I was very proud of the way we rebounded from Friday's first-round loss," said Eagleburger.

Loss to Monett

Last Thursday, Southwest fell 8-1 in a weather-shortened game against Monett.

"Monett is a very quality squad," said Eagleburger. "We made some critical errors, but we kept battling back. I was proud of our 'never quit' attitude."

The Lady Trojans struck first, scoring a run in the first inning against the Lady Cubs.

Coley Ickes singled to open the contest and scored on Kaleigh Ennis's one-out single.

Southwest held serve in the bottom of the first, allowing a harmless two-out single to Kelsey Wiseman, but the Lady Trojans couldn't take advantage of a golden opportunity in the second inning.

Back-to-back singles by Zia Roller and Ickes were wasted, as the Lady Trojans couldn't get the clutch hit.

Southwest batters were set down in order for remainder of the game.

Monett responded with five tallies in the second and three more runs in the third to secure the victory.

"We scheduled this game to help make us a better team," said Eagleburger. "We want to build off this game and work to get better."

Southwest is now 5-4 on the season.