BEAUMONT, Texas — The last time we saw the Lamar softball team, they were losing a shootout to Utah Valley in the opening round of the WAC Tournament. Now the Lady Cards a hungry for more according to Head Coach Amy Hooks.
"That was the message after the game. What are we going to do from here? What is our offseason going to look like? What is our fall going to look like when we get a chance to take the field and compete against an opponent, who are we going to be? We had eight or nine kids stay this summer, worked out with strength and conditioning coaches. Just got together one on one and worked out all summer long. So we've seen that help us this fall and I think it was all because of how we left last season."
Lamar will open their season in the Houston Invitational against some stiff competition. The Lady Cards will face Virginia, Nebraska and Houston.
"The way that softball is growing, all teams are getting so much better. So there's no weekends off, but Virginia is going to be really, really tough. They're really good. Their head coach used to coach at McNeese, so I know her really well. Nebraska, used to play them when I played in the Big 12. So they're pretty good. And then Houston, I mean we play them every year. Our kids kind of get up for that. Kind of a little rivalry for us cause we play them in the fall and we play them in the spring. So we're going to get tested right out of the gate."
Despite winning only eleven games, Lamar is picked sixth in the Southland. Coach hooks say that's a testament to what is being built.
"When you start establishing your culture, getting your recruits in here and not just your recruits. Knowing how you operate and how your coaching staff operates, you're going to start building something. And I think that's what they're noticing is, hey they're getting better each year. The record might not reflect that, but if you go back and you look at our record there was a lot of one run losses. Or within three run losses. So you're right there, you're in the game. You're getting way more competitive and I think that's what they notice with these rankings."
HOUSTON INVITATIONAL
THURSDAY
Lamar vs Virginia, 3:00 pm
FRIDAY
Lamar vs Nebraska, 10:00 am
Lamar vs Houston, 5:30 pm
SATURDAY
Lamar vs Virginia, 10:00 am
Lamar vs Nebraska, 12:30 pm