SOFTBALL Lady Bisons of the Road 1982 marked the second year of women's intercol legiate softball at Hard ing, and o nce again, all games we re played away from the campus. Some of the games we re played out of thei r league, too, as the Lady Bisons accumul ated an 8-13 season record, fo r a 20-16 two-year total. Numbers can be deceiving, however, and the difference in records reflected the tougher schedul e played last year. During the first week, the Lady Bisons toured Mississippi and played some tough opponents, including NCAA Division II Delta State University. Net result of the four-da y, eight game sc hedule was Mississippi 8, Ha rding o. " The scheduling of all those games at one time was probab ly a mi stake, " Co<:~ch Ted 142/ Sof tball A ltman sa id. But the trip had its good moments as we ll. " We staved in the homes of families in the loca l chu rch," sa id senior Marla Upton, twoyear veteran left f ielder. "We shared with t hem about Harding, and all went to church together on Sunday," she added. " I t's an experience I' ll remember." The res t of the season, March 26-Apr i l 22, consisted of trips to Southern A rkansas ' .Iniversity in Magnolia, University of A rkansas at Pine Bluff, and University of A rkansas at Monticello, plus local tournaments involving independent teams. Winning eight of their l ast 13 games. the Lady Bisons put togethe r a decent record aga inst Arkansas opponents. But regardless of thei r record, the experience was invaluable to most of the players. - Courle5), of PublicilY Office "Getting to compete helped me immensely," sa id pitcher Terri Harmon, a senior from Kansa s City, Kan. ' 'I'll be a better coach than someone who didn't get that c hance." Upton agreed. "T he students I coach will get the real benefit of my experience. It's important for a coach to have real game experience on a competitive leveL " Both players also agreed that coach Ted A l tman, v ice president for student affairs, made it all work. " He does a real good job with us," said Harmon. " There's a lot of closeness and unity on the team, kind of l ike one big famil y." " He's the father of fathers out there, " commented Upton. " He makes time for us out of a busy sc hedule a nd we do what he asks out of love for him. " He's remarkable!" she added. " He's quite an examp le, out there in his busi ness suit during practice. He's a powerful influence on the team." As members of AWISA (Arkansas Women's Interco ll egiate Sports Association), the Lady Bisons we re unable to participate in post season tournament play because of a regulation whereby member schools must compete in a minimum of three women's interco ll egiate spor ts in order to be eligibl e. Although the future of women's sports at Ha rding was unce rtain , a promising note was the nearly two-to-one vote in favor of an expanded women's sports program at Harding during a spring facul ty meeting. Any fina l action, however, must come from the Boa rd of Trustees. But in any case the Lady Bi sons have won their place in the at hletic program, and in the process, the respect of many observers, both on and off campus. "<c: - lonn I. Radcliffe 1. Pam Tiner, third baseman, throws to first to pur the runner out. 2. 1982 Softball Team. Front row: Upton, Reeh, Hansel, Jones, Watson, Sechler, De/imar. Second row: Fraley, Phillip. Rhoten, Copeland, Schrank, Tinner, Ninemire. Ba ck row: Altman-coach, Harmon, Nichols, Dawson, Rat liff. Freuhauf. Shackelford. 3. Tiney Fraley wait s underneath a pop fly. 4. Nita Ninemire readies herself to scoop-up a grounder that is hit just to the left of first base.
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