East Meets West: Softball Teams get Together for SIAC Crossover

 

 

JASPER, Ala. – Last year, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference created the Softball Crossover, an event that brought all the league’s teams to one location for an East-meets-West, round-robin tilt.

There are several reasons that make the Crossover necessary. But on a sunny Saturday afternoon – the last of the three-day event – most everyone was just happy that they had the venue to get a gauge on the competition for next month’s SIAC Championships in Tuscaloosa.

“We get to see all the teams and talk to the players and coaches on a casual level,” said Stillman first baseman LaGina Harris.

The most practical reason for the Crossover is the financial savings. With schools spread from north central Kentucky to south Georgia, sending teams across the southeast would cost a considerable amount of money. In this setting, the teams from the East Division can play the teams from the West Division without the drain on the budgets.

“During the regular season, we’re not going to Kentucky. We’re not going to Lane,” said Claflin head coach Hampton Jordan. “When you look at it from the other side, they’re not coming to Orangeburg either.”

The Crossover is also a showcase for some of the best softball in Division II. That can help the teams at the top and the bottom of the league.

“This shows the ability of the other players and programs and what teams have to work on,” said Stillman head coach Greg Wesley, who led the Lady Tigers to a 2-4 record.

If there was one team that took advantage of the Crossover, it was certainly Albany State. The Golden Rams blitzed the entire East Division, winning all six games – five of them by the 8-run mercy rule.

“We’re happy to do what we did,” said ASU head coach Robert Skinner. “We did good in spots, in others we didn’t. But to go 6-0 this weekend, I can’t complain.”

There were some complaints from coaches, ranging from small field dimensions to the need for teams having to supply their own balls at a conference event. But most teams seemed unconcerned that playing six games in front of all the competition could provide a scouting report that might be costly at next month’s championships.

“We’re showing stuff but sometimes, you see so much, it’s give and take,” Harris said. “We can see the teams for ourselves. We haven’t seen Miles play (before this weekend) but now we can see them before we play them.”

Skinner said his team played like it was the tournament or any other game. It came to win.

“You do all you can do and hope it makes a statement. You let them know that the way we played this weekend is the way we want to play in the tournament,” Skinner said. “We want to be the team to beat.”

Benedict coach Gwendolyn Rouse said her team was close to running the table like Albany State. But the conclusion of the Crossover doesn’t mean the chase for the title is over.

“At tournament time, anything can happen,” Rouse said. “Whoever comes to play will win. I’ve seen at least four teams that can win the tournament

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