Lady Bear Softball is gearing up for playoffs, which are just around the corner, and so far the Varsity team is 5-2 in district, while JV is 6-1.

“As always the goal for varsity is to win district and make it to the playoffs and go as far as we can,” head coach Dena Adkins said.

To prepare for playoffs, both the JV and Varsity teams practice three times a week, as well as during their athletic periods. The average practice consists of warming up, throwing, hitting, fielding balls and running bases.

“We struggle with getting upset at ourselves for making mistakes,” sophomore Jada McMackin said. “But it is important to keep the energy up during a tough practice so we can get better.”

The toughest opponent JV has faced so far has been Bridge City. According to JV Coach Cory Parsons, the biggest problem was the defense in that game.

“We created our own challenge in that our defensive play was not very good and we committed many errors,” Parsons said.  “We have played pretty soundly against all other opponents.”

As of now, the hardest team Varsity has played was LaGrange in the College Station tournament. The biggest challenge they face is not beating themselves, though, as they have done in the past.

“In district we are our worst enemy,” Adkins said. “We have beaten ourselves when we played Bridge City and Hardin Jefferson by committing way too many errors and leaving way too many runners stranded on base.”

According to Adkins, some of the leaders on the varsity team are seniors Blythe Ferguson, Angel Villanueva, Danyelle Hodges and Alisha Fuss. The team has five more games in district and then will run into playoffs.

“After the first round, we finished in 3rd with a 4 and 2 record,” Adkins said. “We are looking to go undefeated in the second half.”