Softball on the outside looking in for a home playoff game

 With their last district game behind them, the Oakdale softball players look for a win in either the two final games of the season against Glenmora and Iowa to secure a home playoff game. 
 "We're making some good fielding like catches and throws, and Brie (Hargrove)'s pitching better," said assistent coach Ben Jones. "But we just not making it over the hump of that next tier of teams."
 Head coach Alycia McDaniel agreed and admitted her team was "on a good roll" after a 7-2 win against Pickering on March 21. Her Warriors lost the next game at Rosepine 15-0 but came back and dominated Bunkie 14-1. The team then competed in the Rapides Tournament, which both coaches said hurt their team more than helped.
 In the first game of the tournament on April 1, the Warriors beat Northwood-Lena 13-1. "We hit the ball good, but that was because they had a really slow pitcher," Jones said. "And that ended up hurting us the next game."
 "I didn't know the caliber of Northwood-Lena, but their pitcher was the slowest little pitcher I've ever seen," McDaniel said. "It took a good week and a half for (my girls) to adjust back to a fast pitcher."
 The next game up in the tournament was against Avoyelles Charter, and Oakdale fell victim to leaving too many runners on  base as they lost 3-1. "Their pitcher was a lot like Bunkie's pitcher," McDaniel said. "We should have racked them. Everytime we'd get runners on base, we could not get anybody to get them in. We tried bunting and other different scenarios. One game our bunts would be good, the next game we can't lay down a bunt to save our life."
  Oakdale then lost on Senior Night to Rapides 7-2 and lost the last district game 6-2 at Many, who is the number one team in the state. According to Jones his team was down 3-0 after a three-run homerun but scored two runs in the next half-inning, but the momentum died on a base running error to end the inning and the rally. 
 "I just wish that some of our bigger batters that we're used to coming through all the time would come through," said McDaniel after the loss at Many. "If we would have consistency in our bats, that would be key. We'd be sitting with a home playoff game right now instead of at number 17."
 "I honestly believe this, and not just because Dorien (Phillips)'s a senior, but this group of girls right here have what it takes to go far," McDaniel continued. "And for me coming from Pine (Prairie) to Oakdale and seeing the improvement that I've made, and it's not that I did it. I mean the girls had to have wanted it, but I feel like they deserve to go further than the first round. But they have to want it."