By Garrett Kroeger

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Natchez High School softball coach Bonita Hamilton gathered her team right outside the dugout in the middle of the fourth inning.

All she could say to her team is, “I know you can play ball.” Yet, on Friday night against the Brookhaven High School Lady Panthers, the Lady Bulldogs were not playing their best ball. They lost 18-1 in five innings.

“It’s frustrating,” Hamilton said. “They let a team like Brookhaven intimidate them.”

Hamilton said that Natchez’s last two games were competitive, going into seven innings each. But when the Lady Bulldogs were preparing for the Lady Panthers, the blue and yellow somehow let Brookhaven get to them.

“I heard everyone in practice saying we are playing Brookhaven,” Hamilton said. “But they let that team get in their heads and it just gets down in them.

“Every time, all the time, when we play Brookhaven, they get to us. If they were just to look at Brookhaven like any other team, that we have beaten in the past, Brookhaven would be like everyone else. It’s a mindset thing. But once we got here, man.”

While the score may not reflect it, Hamilton was pleased with Natchez’s defense. The Lady Bulldogs caught a handful of fly balls. However, it was the wild pitches and miscommunication that cost Natchez.

Senior left fielder Deja Hudson’s performance was another thing Hamilton was happy with. She tallied a triple at her first at bat and made multiple defensive plays. Yet, everyone around her struggled and when Natchez plays Brookhaven again later this season, Hamilton hopes her team plays with the mindset Hudson performed with on Friday.

“It has to come (from) within,” Hamilton said. “Just like Deja, she knew who she was playing. She set her mind that she was going to hit well. It just a mind thing when it comes down to girls.

Moving forward, the Lady Bulldogs are still trying to put the puzzle together. Their third baseman did not play — whom Hamilton said her absence was felt — and they are still figuring out the shortstop position. Plus, Natchez is relying on a lot of seventh, eighth and ninth graders.

With the loss, the blue and yellow are 4-2 on the season and 1-1 in district play. Even though it was a rough outing for Natchez, Hamilton and the Lady Bulldogs still have a positive outlook on the year as they play at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Franklin County High School.

“If we could get solid offense and defense, we will be OK because they have shown me that we can play ball,” Hamilton said. “But we have to stay focused and stay positive. If we do that, anything can happen.”