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| COURTESY SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS |
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Head coach John Garris will begin his first season as at the helm of the Southern Lady Jaguars softball program and his 12th overall (237-273-1) at the 2015 season opener against Nicholls State in the Tangi Tourism Lion Classic in Hammond Friday.
Garris, who takes over the softball program after serving as an assistant last season, was named head coach in August, giving him the opportunity to fully mold his squad.
“With our new players they get to become acclimated,” said Coach Garris. “With our returning players we make sure everybody is assimilated and is integrated properly into the program; we get a chance to get into details with individual skills, and team concepts.
We spent a lot of time on team concepts.”
Southern enters the 2015 season after finishing 11-37 overall, and 8-9 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. The Lady Jaguars finish a surprising second in the Western Division, sweeping Arkansas Pine-Bluff, and defeating Grambling 2-1 and recording a big upset over Prairie View. Southern faced Jackson State, Mississippi Valley, and Grambling in the 2014 SWAC Tournament going 1-2 sending heated rival Grambling State packing. Out of the nine losses, Southern lost by only four runs or less, and out of those contest they were defeated by one point. Versus Southeastern, down six to one going into the sixth inning and clawed all the way back to one point, but they couldn’t plate that last runner in from scoring position.
Coach Garris is excited about his schedule this season.
“We like the way our schedule is set up, we play our away games in February and home games later in the season; our fans can come out and support us.”
The first six games of the season will be away from the safe confine of Lady Jaguar Field on the Southern University campus. The Lady Jaguars will face Nicholls State to start the season in Hammond on Feb. 6 and again in Thibodaux on Feb. 11. Southern will travel to Ruston and will participate in the Louisiana Tech Tournament and will face Detroit Mercy and Louisiana Tech.
“We hope to compete, we play Louisiana Tech, Southeastern Louisiana, Nicholls State, Detroit Mercy. If we look at those teams, and say ‘we better lace them up’ but you don’t go and say ‘we out of our league.’” said Garris referencing the Lady Jaguars’ non-conference tilt. He also explains, step one is to compete hard and execute well, and the Lady Jags will have a chance to have some success.
Southern then plays six straight home games before the SWAC round-up in Longview, Texas, where the Lady Jags will face the SWAC eastern division. Last season, Southern was competitive in all but one game, losing by four to Jackson State and falling to Mississippi Valley State, Alcorn and Alabama State by one. Southern’s lone win of the round-up arrived when the Lady Jaguars blanked Alabama A&M 9-0.
After the 2015 round-up, the Lady Jaguars will play consecutive division series versus western division heavy weight Texas Southern and bitter rival Grambling State.
“We want to catch up to them. First step is to go out and compete against TSU, hopefully the fans come out it’s like running a marathon; it’s tough but every encouragement goes a long way”
From their Southern will head on the road for two consecutive series against the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Prairie View A&M. Last season, Southern swept Pine Bluff and defeated Prairie View 2-1 in an upset. Southern plans to take an aggressive approach in league play, striving to win two or three divisional series in an effort to close the gap against defending western division champion Texas Southern.
Coach Garris explained that the contest last season was not even close, “If we can compete with everyone on our schedule, anything can happen.”
Junior Alicia Barajas (Carson, CA) had a team high 42 hits last season. She has a natural fluid swing with a great eye, but it’s her defensive skills that caught the eye of Coach Garris. Barajas executed several 4-6-5 double plays last season, which is a rarity in softball. Southern led the SWAC in double-plays last season.
“(Alicia) is fun to watch… a special athlete,” said Coach Garris.
Junior Delphia Holmes of Lake Jackson, Texas, sophomores Kayleigh Thomas of Jeffersonville, Ind. and Sarah Miller of Marietta, Ga. return for the Lady Jags. Coach Garris explained that each pitcher represent a different set of skills that complement each other. Coach also pointed out that this is a tight knit group, which works hard and together. A point of emphasis this season is to pitch smart. Another priority has been defense, fielding their position.
Four players will vie for playing time in the outfield including senior Danielle Jackson of Harvey and freshmen Bailey Rankin of Shelbyville, Ky. This unit has been performing well in scrimmages. It’s a versatile group, they are very good on the bases, not just with speed but with situational base running. they are doing well in the field, and offensively. Coach pointed out that a lot of the improvements have been attributed with how hard the unit has trained and Coach Shepherd tutelage.
With four players vying for time in the outfield, the Lady Jaguars’ infield is shaping up with Barajas returning to shortstop to join sophomore Amanda Pacheco of Highland, Calif. who saw a lot of time at second base last season. Coach Garris sees Barajas getting stronger and more solid at shortstop. He pointed out, through some stretches last season, Barajas played extremely well and made some phenomenal plays. For this season, Garris is hoping it all comes together from start to finish after Barajas returned in great shape, which has helped her performance on the field.
Sophomore Jade Luke of New Orleans is another returner who Garris expects will get a lot of looks at third base. Luke has exceled in the classroom, which has translated into being a good student of the game. Freshman Jamani Greer of Chattanooga, Tenn. will compete for some playing time as well, Coach stated that in the last few weeks it’s like a light bulb went off, she is learning the system that is not quite simple. Freshmen Sydnie Andrews (Missouri City, Texas) is a versatile player, who will be counted on to help Southern fill holes in the outfield and infield rotation.
“Your freshman year, no matter how good you are, how bright you are, no matter how dedicated you are, it’s just a big challenge,” said Garris. “Your swimming in the deep end of the pool now.”
Junior Macy Maurer of Bryan, Texas, junior Hailey Guitreau of Maurepas, La. and freshman Kiara Suttles of Chattanooga, Tenn. are the Lady Jags catchers.
Entering his first season Coach Garris also fields a young coaching staff that is energetic and has hit the ground rolling. Former Southern catcher and graduate assistant coach Harley Roller joins assistant coach Ashanti Shepherd on the Lady Jaguars coaching staff. Former Southern first baseman Megan Maile will serve as a student coach.
Coach Shepherd is in her first year at Southern. She was a 2013 All-MEAC first team selection her senior year, leading FAMU to the MEAC Tournament. She also ranked 40th in the nation in stolen bases. She spent time this past summer playing professional softball in China. Coach Shepherd spearheads the academic performance of the Lady Jaguars this season and, since her arrival at Southern, grades has vastly improved. Her duties also include managing Southern’s short game, base running and outfielders.
“(Ashanti) brings a winning background and she will bring a lot of new ideas and perspective to the program.”
Coach Roller was recruited and played at Southern before graduating this past December. She appeared in 103 games for the Lady Jaguars as a catcher and posted career batting average of .283. A student of the game, Roller was able to absorb the nuance of Coach Garris’ system and will work with the pitching staff this season. Her other job duties include recruiting and maintain the program’s administrative tasks.
“(Harley) having been a catcher she understands our system. She brings so much to the table with recruiting and the administration side because she has been around,” said Coach Garris.
Coach Maile, who serves as student assistant coach, appeared in 64 games during her two years at Southern as an infielder. Her job duties include scouting, infield and directing the technology programs that Coach Garris will be implementing this season.
“Maile works like she get paid a million dollars. She is very positive and fun to be around,” said Coach Garris
With an eclectic group of players, Southern University is confident that they can put a unit together that can compete game in and game out. The first test will be February 6th versus Nicholls State in Hammond at the Southeastern Louisiana Softball Complex.
Courtesy: Herman Shelton, Sports Information Assistant
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