On March 4 and 5, the Lady Statesmen softball team faced up against Union University in a three-game show down. The Lady Statesmen destroyed the competition, claiming all three wins in their first home games of the season. This marks their first Gulf South Conference series win of the season.

In the first game of the weekend, the Lady Statemen held Union scoreless in an incredible effort by Freshman Pitcher Mari Alex Sandridge and the rest of the Lady Statesmen defense. Both team struggled to find their groove in the offense, until the bottom of the fourth when Freshman Olivia Dick’s RBI put the Lady Statesmen on the board. The bottom of the fifth added to the Lady Statesmen’s tally when Senior Kory Watterson came up big at bat, bringing in three runs. Sandridge finalized the win for the Lady Statesmen after striking out a Union batter in the top of the seventh.

The second game of the weekend also ended with the Lady Statesmen on top. However, it was not quite as smooth sailing as the first. Union scored first, looking to gain momentum early, in search of a comeback win. Sandridge tied up the game with an RBI off a single. The game remained a tie until the fourth when Sophomore Chelsea Lamping had an RBI, bringing in what would turn out to be the winning run.  The Lady Statesmen defense held on for the remainder of the game, grabbing the win by the skin of their teeth, with a score of 2-1.

The final game of the series happened on Saturday. Union took the lead early, 2-0, but the Lady Statesmen fired back, cutting Union’s lead, 2-1. The teams battled back and forth as the game went on. The Lady Statesmen hit an offensive streak, however, and went on to score an incredible 16 points. Union only managed to bring in 6, leaving a 10-point deficit at the end of the game.

The Lady Statesmen came out of the gate swinging on Saturday. There is not much time to celebrate the sweep, though. The ladies will be preparing for this coming weekend’s match up against the University of West Georgia. The games will be hosted on the Lady Statesmen’s home field once again. The first game will begin Friday at 1 p.m. followed by another at 3 p.m. They will close the weekend out on Saturday with a game at noon. Come out and show your support.