The Lady Raiders are still looking for answers on the softball field. Head coach Connie Stobert took time after Cleveland’s 10-2 loss to East Ridge Tuesday to ask each Lady Raider their thoughts at the plate. Stobert concluded after the impromptu skull session her girls were over thinking the problem and simply need to stop thinking and do what she knows they can do.

“They are thinking way too much. They are too smart for their own good sometimes because they are great students academically. I think they bring that aspect out here. It just kind of hurts them a little bit sometimes because they are so determined,” Stobert said after the debriefing. “There is no doubt in my mind they want to hit, they want to succeed. But, it is overload for them. They have to get rid of those mental blocks. They just haven’t made the adjustments yet.”

After two scoreless innings, the Lady Pioneers put two runs on the board in the top of the third. The Lady Raiders answered back in the bottom half of the inning with a impressive performance.

Allison Botts opened with a single to center and moved to second on a perfect sacrifice bunt by Hannah Holland. Botts raced home when a throw to third went awry. Third baseman Brittany Arnold tied the score at 2-2 with her second home run of the season, a solo shot over the left-center field fence.

East Ridge retaliated with six runs in the fourth on six consecutive hits including three doubles. The Lady Pioneers locked up the win with two more runs in the top of the fifth.

“We try to pull some positive things out of the good,” Stobert said of the three-hit third inning. We have been run-ruled almost every game. We have to try to find some positive things as much as it hurts. It’s difficult for them, it’s frustrating for me. All we can do is keep persevering, stay determined and try to relax a little bit.”

SUMMARY

East Ridge 002 62 — 10 12 3

Cleveland 002 00 — 2 3 2

WP: Alexis Mooer; LP: Haley Hodgson. HR: Brittany Arnold (C). 2B: Moore, Holy Wilson, Leilani Forton (ER). Records: East Ridge 6-2; Cleveland 0-7.