STEUBENVILLE, Ohio—Despite the challenge posed by strong winds during their 15-1 and 10-1 double header loss to Medaille College, the Lady Baron softball team continued to develop more consistent batting.

The Lady Barons began the first game with three solid innings of even play, down only 2-0. As Medaille's batters adjusted to Franciscan's pitching, however, they hit several home runs, distancing themselves from FUS primarily in the fourth, when they scored seven runs.

"They had some pretty big bats on their team. They were getting the ball up high and it was just catching that jet stream and going right over the fence," head coach Jennifer Parker said, referring to several of Medaille's hits that sailed well beyond the fence and into the trees lining the top of the hill behind the field. "They took advantage of the wind today, and there's not a whole lot you can do when that's happening."

While Medaille's players continued to hit, Franciscan struggled to wake up their bats in the first game, giving way to the Maverick's lead.

Parker said that in spite of a few struggles on the field, the team rallied for several strong hits in the second game. One such notable performance came from junior Katrina Fabian who hit a double and stole third base in the bottom of the second.

The Lady Baron's single run of the game was scored on a similar play in the bottom of the fourth when senior Mallori Linscomb doubled, followed by a single from Fabian, and was brought home when sophomore Iliana Gonzalez advanced to first on an error by Medaille.

"We kept our heads up and didn't give up," Parker said. "I'm really proud of the way the girls came back and batted in the second game because that was really a struggle for us."

Parker said that aside from finding their bats, one of the Lady Baron's main struggles is finding comfortable timing on their infield transfers on short plays.

"We've got plenty of time to make those plays, but sometimes we're making them a little too quickly and our fielder isn't ready to handle the toss," Parker said. "Part of that is communication and some of it is settling down on the field and not over thinking the play."

As the team prepares for its next double header, a home game vs. LaRoch College on April 15 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., its focus is positive achievements.

"We need to combine the good innings that we had fielding and the positives in the batter's box and build on that as we move forward," Parker said.