The 2008 softball season got under way for the Commerce Lady Tigers this past weekend, as the team traveled to Gainesville for the Lanier Point Invitational.
The outing was a little rough on the Lady Tigers, as they went 1-5 on the weekend.
But, coach Pam Canup said, the team is improving with every game.
The ladies were scheduled to face Banks County Wednesday in Homer at 5:45 p.m.
Rough Start
It was a rocky road for Commerce from the beginning, as the Lady Tigers were shut out in both games Friday, losing by identical 9-0 scores to White County and Habersham County.
“Both of them have been very successful teams,” Canup said. “We struggled a little bit with the hitting, trying to figure out this and that. We didn’t play as well as I thought we should have. We made a lot of mental errors in those two games.”
Getting Better
Commerce started Saturday morning with the Lady Red Elephants of Gainesville. Both teams went back and forth during the course of the game, with neither able to show a clear advantage. Canup played the team’s younger pitchers against Gainesville, and the lady Tigers fell 7-5. That was also the score against Rabun County.
Despite the losses, Canup said the team continues to improve.
“In each game, you could see them getting progressively better, and learning each other. Everybody is in a new position. The shortstop is learning where the second baseman is going to be, things like that.
“But there were a lot of little things that we did well. Everybody was where they were supposed to be. Noticing some of the other teams, they didn’t seem to be that way. There were a lot of things that we were doing well, but we just had some mental lapses here and there.”
Winning Combination
Those improvements culminated in Commerce’s lone victory in the tournament, when they defeated Banks County 2-1.
Canup said the team’s improvements in the previous games paid off for the win.
“We actually started hitting the ball better and better,” she said. “We feel like from Friday night to Saturday night, we’ve been getting better and better. We made a whole bunch of steps.
“If we keep getting better and better, maybe we can make a run at our region.”
The Lady Tigers hoped to carry the momentum of the win to their final game of the tournament, as they faced East Hall late Saturday.
But the Lady Vikings came out swinging, and put five runs on the board before the end of the first inning.
Commerce began fighting back, and chipped away slowly at the East Hall lead, managing to come back and score. In the seventh inning, the Lady Tigers had the bases loaded when East Hall finally put the game away, leaving Commerce with an 8-6 loss.
Regardless of the outcome, Canup said she saw a lot of good things out of her players over the weekend.
“Brittney Wilson hit the ball well, and she made a lot of contact,” Canup said.
Canup also pointed to her three young pitchers, Brooke Vickery, Kayla Burks and Beth Pritchett, as doing some good things during the tournament.
“They did a pretty good job of trying to stay around the plate and throw strikes,” she said.
Meanwhile, ace Brooklynn Stinchcomb was moved to the outfield to allow the younger pitchers to feel things out.
“She did a good job while the younger girls were pitching,” Canup said.
Senior C.J. Wilkes also had several good catches during the weekend, Canup said, while Peyton Maddox and Haiden Nunn both laid down good bunts.
Canup said that several team members came out of the weekend a little banged up, but not giving up.
“After six games, they were sore and tired, but they kept going at it,” she said. “They’re wanting to do whatever the team needs.
“We’re getting better and better, and they seem to want to do the little things to try to keep improving. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting better all the time.”
The Lady Tigers were scheduled to play host to Jefferson Tuesday afternoon. Results were unavailable at press time.
Check the Commerce Tigers Scoreboard for the latest game updates.
