LEESBURG, Florida - With the late winter weather generally makes play difficult in central West Virginia for outdoor spring sports, the Salem softball team took the opportunity to head down south to participate in The Spring Games, a multi-team series of collegiate competitions held across central Florida. Salem started off play with a morning contest against a familiar foe in the Shepherd Rams, and they followed that game up with a contest against Lock Haven. The Tigers fell in both contests, and they played out as follows:

Shepherd 10, Salem 0

In Game 1 against old WVIAC foe Shepherd, Salem had a tough time finding scoring chances as they accumulated just 2 hits in the contest. The Tigers kept it close early on, but the Rams broke open the game in the 4th inning and cruised to a quick 10-0 victory in the 5th inning. 

Lock Haven 11, Salem 3

In Game 2, Salem matched up against the Bald Eagles of Lock Haven. Lock Haven scored 2 in the first, but Salem found their footing when they responded with a Sierra Chapa single that brought home Meladie LaRance to make it 2-1. Lock Haven put the pressure on with 3 more runs in the third, but the Tigers added 2 more of their own in the 4th. It was Sierra Chapa again that started it off with another single to bring home Ricki Garay, and then Elaina Esteban knocked in another single to bring home Alyvia Pittman.  However, Salem could not keep pace with the Bald Eagles scoring in the next 2 innings, and the Tigers were handed an 11-3 loss in 6 innings. 

Despite the disappointing start to the trip, Salem had ample opportunity to get back into the swing of things this week. They are set to take on a rare tripleheader on March 16th when they meet up with Saint Thomas Aquinas, Slippery Rock, and then the University of Mary for a day full of matchups in Leesburg, Florida.