Lady Hawks Seeking At Large Bid To NAIA National Tournament
By RNW Reporter: Allison Roland
After a 20-game winning streak, the seventh-ranked Shorter Lady Hawks softball team continued to be victorious in the Region XIII Tournament by beating the eleventh-ranked William Carey Lady Crusaders 2-0 in Orange Beach, Alabama.
In the winner’s bracket finale of the Region XIII tournament, the No. 7 Lady Hawks broke their winning streak since April 2 to the fourth-ranked University of Mobile Lady Rams, 4-3.
Though the Lady Hawks have been quite successful this season, they have not always been so lucky. On April 25, the ladies advanced to the championship level with a 1-0 win over Brenau.
With a 6-1 win over Lee University, the Lady Hawks earned the title of the Southern States Athletic Conference Softball Tournament Champions for the first time in their five-year existence. The weekend prior to the championship, the Lady Hawks were able to capture the regular season title with two wins over Faulkner University.
Earlier this season, senior Lakyn Newton from Greenville, Alabama was awarded the National Player of the Week for the week of April 21-27. She was selected for this award after winning the Southern States Athletic Conference award and the Region XIII award.
Overall this season Newton is batting .395 with 44 runs and 38 RBI. Newton was very enthusiastic about the SSAC tournament title and stated, “we are at the top of our game now: our pitching is on, our defense is on, and we are positive about the rest of our season.”
After their win over the Lady Crusaders in Orange Beach, Alabama, it seemed apparent that the Lady Hawks were confident in themselves and their game. With a win over William Carey on Thursday in the loser’s bracket finale, they advanced to the championship game.
Later that afternoon, the Lady Hawks were named Region Runner-Ups of the Region XIII Softball Championship Tournament, with a 3-1 loss agains the University of Mobile.
Perhaps lady luck will shine on them again, as they await an at-large bid for the NAIA National Tournament May 16-21 in Decatur, Ala.
You must be logged in to post a comment.