University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagle Softball Begins Spring Practices
1/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Lady Eagle Softball Begins Spring Practices HATTIESBURG, Miss. --
The Lady Eagles began practices Monday and will continue to work six days a week until the season opener against Louisiana-Monroe, Wednesday, Feb. 4 at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
Head Coach Gay McNutt, entering her fourth season with the Southern Miss program, has been pleased with the practices so far.
"The team is working very hard," McNutt said. "We have a couple of outfielders out, and we are waiting for them to get well before we can have a full team practice. But everybody is positive, upbeat and ready to go. They realize that Feb. 4 is right around the corner."
Those outfielders, senior Heather Bell and junior Diane Hammes, have been limited from practice because of minor injuries sustained during the holiday break. Still, both players are expected to be ready for the season opener.
Aside from the injured pair, McNutt has been pleased with the team's work ethic over these first few days of practice.
"Our pitchers look good, and we are hitting the ball well," McNutt said. "It has only been a couple of days, and we are very proud of them."
The Lady Eagles also have extra motivation heading into the 2004 campaign, coming off a disappointing 28-30 record last season and a fifth-place finish in Conference USA.
"I think our focus has a lot to do with the way we finished last season," McNutt said. "We have had the goal to win the conference every year, but we fell quite short the last couple of years. But this team realizes that there is no reason for us to fall short; we are very capable of winning the league. That's exciting for us."
Southern Miss practices Sunday through Friday at the softball complex. Weekday practices begin at 2 p.m., while Sunday sessions are scheduled for 1 p.m.
Ticket packages are still available for the upcoming 2004 season. For ticket information, call 266-5418 or visit SouthernMiss.com.
