By Kyle Roberts
Softball
Ruston High’s softball team (7-4) was unable to notch a win over the weekend at the Pineville Tournament, falling to Jena 15-1 on Friday and then 13-2 to Grant and 9-5 to Iowa on Saturday.
“Well we struggled this weekend unfortunately,” Ruston High head softball coach Laura Garvie said. “We were a little over anxious at the plate and the balls we did make contact with weren’t necessarily full barrel. Some were for sure, but unfortunately just not consistent enough to make an impact. The girls were upset with how they showed up because they it’s not a true representation of what they’ve been doing and who they are. Because of that, they went right back to work fixing things and are working to do the same today.”
Jena would get the win after five innings due to the run-rule. Junior Morgan Foster would get two hits for the Bearcats in three plate appearances.
Against Grant, Ruston would get a home run from Foster in the fifth inning to score two, but it would not be enough to rally back in the loss.
Lastly, senior Cala Wilson would get four hits including home runs in the third and sixth innings against Iowa after tailing 5-0 in the bottom of the third.
Baseball
The Ruston Bearcats (1-3) were swept in a weekend series against Haughton, falling 11-9 on Thursday on the road, 9-5 at home and then 6-4 back on the road.
“These were definitely not the results we were looking for,” Ruston High head coach Zack Smith said. “We’re a team that’s based on good pitching and good defense, and we didn’t reach that expectation this weekend. They showed a lot of fight over the weekend; they put up a lot of fight. The guys continued to fight. We’d be down and then tie the ball game; that’s a positive thing from this weekend. They just didn’t quit, and that’s something we’ve been preaching about and all we can ask for.”
After taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the second, the Bearcats would give up four runs in the bottom of the third.
Ruston would rally back from seven runs down to get close to the Buccaneers in the top of the seventh after scoring five runs, which would not be enough. Junior Talan Billberry would strike out three and walk five in two and two-thirds innings.
On Friday, Ruston would out-hit Haughton nine-to-eight, but it would not be enough. Senior pitcher Henry James struck out two in four innings on the mound. Both junior Carter Love and junior Peyton Martin would collect multiple hits, while senior Jacoryian Crowe would steal four bases.
Lastly on Saturday, Ruston would score all of its four runs in the top of the third, but four errors and multiple walks would help Haughton total six runs on just one hit.
