BUENA VISTA, Va. - The Franciscan Softball team dropped their first game of the season to non-conference opponent, Southern Virginia University.

"You can tell this was our first time on the field", said head coach Jim Walker, "Unfortunately, we had a chance to help Andi (pitcher) out of the first inning, but failed to make the plays we needed to make."

The Lady Barons opened the scoring in the first inning when junior Kathleen Thompson scored off a ground ball by freshman Anna Swierczewski. The one run lead was short lived, as the Southern Virginia Knights scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Lady Barons were able to add another run in the second inning when senior Anna Ames and freshman Rachel Cooper executed a double steal, allowing Ames to score. The Knights answered with three runs of their own, taking a commanding lead of 9-2 to end the second inning.

Franciscan continued to battle, collecting one run in the third inning, and two more runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. The Lady Barons made a valiant effort and succeeded in closing the seven-run gap, but Southern Virginia added a run to their lead to finish the game with a score of 11-7.

"I was really impressed with how the girls kept battling after getting behind early", Coach Walker added, "Amanda (pitcher) did a great job of coming in and throwing strikes to give us a chance to comeback."

Unfortunately, the second game of the day was stopped in the second inning due to a snowstorm that had made the field unplayable. The Lady Barons had jumped out to a 6-1 lead before the game was called.

"Obviously this wasn't the outcome that we wanted, but it was good to get on the field and get some innings in." said Coach Walker.

The Franciscan Softball Team is scheduled to play Mary Baldwin College on Saturday, March 9 at 1 PM & 3PM before continuing to Myrtle Beach for their annual Spring Break trip.