By: Severn Zieman

The Mohawk Mountaineers softball team had a tough start to their 2022 season, losing 12-2 to the St. Clair Saints and 7-0 to the Conestoga Condors.

It was a positive to see the Mountaineers back on their home diamond at Mohawk Sports Park after being rained out multiple times a season ago, forcing them to play home games on the road.

In the first game of the doubleheader versus the Saints, the Mountaineers fell into an early 5-0 deficit after the second inning and things only got more difficult from there.

The scoring highlights came from first baseman Kerri Smith (Hagersville, ON) and right fielder Tamiko Chiba (Markham, ON), who each drove in a run against the Saints.

The most positive stretch came from pitcher Ally Lawson (Beamsville, ON), who entered a 10-0 game in relief in the third inning and immediately stabilized the defence with her pitching performance.

"Ally came in and executed her role perfectly," said head coach Logan White. "She got a few strikeouts in the game and she did exactly what we asked her to do so we're really happy with that."

Smith pitched the complete campaign in the second game, but Mohawk found themselves in jams all game and failed to find any scoring momentum in return.

Lawson and Emma Harker (Brantford, ON) both reached base and stole second but the offence was unable to drive in the runners in scoring position all day, something White attributes to early-season jitters.

"It felt that we put a little too much pressure in ourselves to make something happen, so as long as (they) settle in and keep their heads on the ball, we should be doing alright," said White.

The team remains upbeat as they head to Seneca College on Sept. 11 to play an away doubleheader against the Seneca Sting at 11:00 a.m. and then versus the Durham Lords at 4:00 p.m.