After several weeks of running through the same grueling warm ups and running through high intensity drills, it was time for the Tigers to take the field and start their season. On Tuesday, February 14th, the softball team opened their season with a doubleheader against University of Mary-Hardin Baylor. Despite the blustery wind and bitter cold, they stepped up to the plate.

Despite their best efforts, the home team lost both games to the Crusaders.

“With these being our first games of the season, I thought that our team did a good job of playing together,” said junior outfielder Sara McCarty. “Even though it didn’t go our way, we are still positive and we know now what we need to work on to move forward and be successful.”

In the first game, neither team did started off well. There were no runs or hits until UMHB scored their first run in the bottom of the third inning. It was not until the seventh inning that Trinity scored two runs and UMHB three more. Senior Katie Castillon lead the team in pitching, while sophomore shortstop Devon Potter and first year third baseman Adrienne Edwards scored the Tigers two runs. The final score was 4-2.

The Tigers’ defense didn’t allow UMHB to score any runs until the fifth inning, when the Crusaders scored a potentially backbreaking seven runs. Pushing through, the Tigers scored one run in the bottom of the fifth inning, which UMHB countered with three more runs in the seventh inning. The final score was 10-1. Senior Katie Glomb was the Tigers’ starting pitcher. In the fifth inning, junior Sabrina Nieto took over. Sophomore third baseman Rylie Goldwait scored the Tigers’ lone run, after  junior shortstop Rebecca Berreth plated her with a sharply hit single.

“I think we played well, the outcome was not in our favor but these are also our first games,” said senior second baseman Hilary Hoffman. “As a team we were very talkative and had high energy on the field. We did a great job of starting strong and finishing strong.”

Although they had hoped for a better result, the team will continue to stay positive. Their high energy cheers and constant encouragement to each other allowed them to fight despite the lopsided scoring.

“To prepare for the next game we are going to work on our hitting and clean up small things to solidify our offense and defense so that it can be as good as possible,” said sophomore Leah Rubio.

Despite their disappointment, the team hopes to continue to develop their skills and come together. Tuesday was just start of many more games to come. They will play their next games at home on Tuesday, February 21st, at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. against the No. 1 ranked team, University of Texas at Tyler.