By Isaac Bourne, Sports Editor
A new era of Ouachita softball has begun with the introduction of new head coach Jeff Jackson, who took the reins of a young Tiger squad. Jackson and found past success at the 18U and high school levels, takes his coaching skills to the college level for the first time in his career.
“[It has been] absolutely amazing from the standpoint of the girls that were on the team, none of which I recruited,” Jackson said. “I met them all either digitally or in person this summer, and they are amazing kids that are just working their tails off, so that piece of it has been wonderful.”
Despite a 1-5 start to the season, close losses early to Missouri S&T (5-7) and Northeastern State (13-16) set the stage for a big win, Jackson’s first at the college level, at home against Delta State where the Tigers took a 6-4 victory.
Now, the team heads on the road to Oklahoma City to finish their pre-conference slate at the Raising Cane’s Softball Festival, where the Tigers will play four games in the span of two days as a final test before starting conference play.
As for its players, the team brings back very few starters from last season, with senior infielder Erin Williams, sophomore outfielder Katelyn Provence and senior infielder Lauren Lester returning as the only 3 returning starters from last season. Fortunately, the team has found tremendous freshmen success from infielder Baylee King, along with outfielders Emily Reed and Jordyn Merrett.
“Because a lot of [our] girls were so young, the first time a lot of girls stepped on the field in college was Friday night [Feb. 2], so we were able to see who is ready and who needs some work,” Jackson said. “The first thing I did was challenge our seniors to take charge, and they did a phenomenal job setting expectations for the freshmen.”
On the mound, the Tigers return all three of their main pitchers from last season to bring a large amount of valuable experience to the bullpen. Senior Maggi Huddleston, senior Hannah Hunter and junior Tuesday Melton lead a strong pitching attack that has been and will continue to be a large asset to coach Jackson in his first season.
Despite a few growing pains to start the season, the Ouachita Tiger softball team is starting to come together just before GAC conference play. Behind the leadership of the few upperclassmen remaining on the team, the Tigers have grown from experience and are only poised to improve as the season goes on.
