Lady Eagles begin region with victory
EUPORA – Just shortly after returning from a loss at Houston on Monday night, Eupora softball coach Amir Hunt put his team on the field to take batting practice.
It was the seventh-straight loss for the Lady Eagles over the course of the last two weeks as they played a grueling opening schedule. It's a schedule that Hunt was hoping would prepare them for what was to come in Class 2A, Region 2 play this season and, with a game on Tuesday against Bruce, that was coming quickly for Eupora.
The Lady Eagles were prepared and ready to have something good happen again and they came out firing on Tuesday. Eupora pounded out nine runs in the first inning and went on to an 11-0 win in just five innings in a game that lasted no more than an hour, starting district play 1-0.
“The last five or six games have been tough," Hunt said. "We've gotten beat pretty bad. Coaching-wise, I've got to dig deep and tell them to keep their heads up and I have to do that for myself. Getting beat is not fun, but when you're getting beat by teams that are better than you are, that's what pays off on nights like (Tuesday).”
To cap off the big win that got the Lady Eagles back on track, they did it while opening up their new field which sits right behind the old field. A new fence, dugouts, a press box and a concession stand was built over the last few months by the parents to give Eupora a field that plays better and looks better.
The comforts of being on that new field and at home for the first time this season certainly seemed to be a difference maker for the Lady Eagles. They had 11 runs on nine hits in just five innings and most of it came right out of the gates in the first inning.
The Lady Eagles sent 13 batters to the plate in the first and recorded six hits led by a two-run double from Ally Reed and a two-run single from Kylie Richardson to jump all over Bruce with a 9-0 advantage.
Haley Farley added another run in the third on an RBI double and Richardson had a leadoff double in the fourth that turned into a run of her own as the Lady Trojans had errors that had her advancing all the way to home plate.
“Bruce booted the ball around a little bit, but we put the ball in play and that's better than what we've been doing," Hunt said. "I'm proud of the girls."
When the five innings were up, Reed was 2-for-2 with two RBI and Farley and Richardson each went 2-for-3.
It has Eupora right back where it wants to be and forgetting about that seven-game losing streak as it feels better off for it. The Lady Eagles get a chance to try to turn things on for a winning streak now as they host Calhoun City on Thursday night at 6 p.m. for another district contest.
“I don't think there's another 2A team in the state of Mississippi that has played a schedule that we have," Hunt said. "It pays off. This year we only get one chance to play top notch competition from Lewisburg, Pontotoc, South Pontotoc, Houston and teams like that to prepare us for that. Like (Athletic Director Adam Dillinger) told us last year, we're 1-0 where it matters.”