Big weekend for Bears’ baseball, softball teams; back in contention

In a pivotal weekend for the Bears’ baseball and softball teams, neither disappointed as both were able to sweep their series, and get back on the right track as the regular season enters its final leg.
The baseball Bears entered the weekend 7-8 in conference play, tied for seventh in the standings and barely clinging to the last spot in the conference tournament.
Their weekend series pitted them against the Nicholls State Colonels, who also entered the weekend at 7-8 in conference play.
The Bears, who were picked to finish last in the conference, took it to the Colonels, sweeping the three-game set.
While the Bears’ hitting is ranked second in the conference, the pitching staff has been hit or miss all season long, entering the weekend seventh in the conference with a 4.32 ERA.
The Colonels did nothing but miss against the pitching staff, as they allowed only eight runs in three games.
The Bears’ starters over the weekend combined for 20 and one-third innings pitched, allowing eight runs on 15 hits, five walks and 18 strikeouts.
It was a weekend that was greatly needed by the Bears. The series sweep moves the Bears into a four-way tie for third place, and right into the thick of the conference tournament hunt.
In order to make a viable run over the last month of the season, the Bears need to have outings from their starting pitchers like they had against the Colonels.
The Bears have yet to make a Southland Conference tournament, and making one this season would be huge for confidence.
The softball team found itself in a similar situation to the baseball team, entering the weekend under .500 in conference play, despite being 29-17 overall.
After starting the season 5-0 in conference play, the Bears had lost seven straight conference games, dropping them from first in the standings to seventh, and one spot out of the conference tournament.
After breaking the single-season wins record with win number 30 on Friday, the Bears completed the sweep of the Nicholls State Colonels’ softball team in a 4-0 win on Saturday.
The sweep puts the Bears back at .500 in conference play and back into the conference tournament conversation.
With the superb pitching and hitting that the softball team has, it is in prime position to make a run at the conference tournament with five conference games remaining.
After the weekend, both teams find themselves in a great spot. Both are currently in position to make their conference tournaments and more importantly, each team controls its own destiny.
The outcome of both teams’ seasons lies solely in their hands.
Only time will tell, but last weekend could be the weekend that both teams remember as the weekend that got them back on track.