Make that nine straight wins for the West Marion Lady Trojans (18-3, 6-0), who powered their way to victories over Jefferson Davis County and St. Patrick to keep momentum rolling in their favor entering the final week of regular-season play.
The key to the Lady Trojans' continued success, head coach Cory Odom believes, is a consistent team effort from each player on the field and in the batter's box. Seemingly every other game, new names appear as leaders at the plate, stepping up whenever their numbers are called to make a big impact for their team.
"We're just playing really good team softball, and I'm really proud of that," Odom said. "We're getting runners in scoring position, and we're getting them across the plate for runs at the right times. You can't ask for much more than that as a softball coach."
It only took three and a half innings for the Lady Trojans to take care of business April 8 against the Lady Jaguars. Seven runs in the first followed by an additional five in the third allowed West Marion to run-rule JDC at home 12-0 for their fifth win against Region 8-3A foes. The Lady Trojans out hit their visitors 8-2, led by senior Sam Pittman who was 2-for-3 at the plate with 3 RBI and a run. Eighth-grader Kat Santangelo added 3 RBI as well with a bases-clearing single in the bottom of the third.
Olivia Miller was nearly perfect in the pitching circle and backed by a solid fielding performance from her teammates, striking out three and allowing no runs on two hits in the contest.
West Marion started out its final district series Monday with a crucial 6-4 win over St. Patrick, who sits just below them at No. 2 in the region standings. Early success at the plate helped the Lady Trojans pull ahead 5-0 in the second inning, and strong defense down the backstretch allowed them to withstand a late comeback attempt to secure their sixth region victory.
This time it was eighth-grader Gracie Odom who led the way at the plate, batting 3-for-4 and tacking on two runs for the home team. Juniors Paris Thompson and Miller both added RBI doubles in yet another productive day for the Lady Trojans' batting lineup.
Still, Odom and his players are keeping their eyes on the ultimate prize, making a concentrated effort not to be distracted by previous success as they continue pushing forward for the chance to make a deep run in the postseason.
"We talk a lot about what our goals are as a team, and those haven't changed," Odom said. "The key for us is staying focused, staying in the moment and playing one game at a time."
The Lady Trojans made it only three innings into Thursday's rematch against St. Patrick before the game was postponed to Monday, April 13 due to weather. Another win on Monday would lift West Marion to a flawless 10-0 record in region play to secure the No. 1 seed entering their final game of the regular season April 19 against JDC.
