The Northwest-Shoals Patriots are a few weeks into fall softball practice, and the team is playing good competition in preparation for the 2023 regular season. The NW-SCC team is hard at work under head coach Angel Brown.

The Patriots recently played a couple of games at the University of North Alabama’s Hilda B. Anderson Softball Complex.

The Patriots faced Northeast Mississippi Community College in the first game of the afternoon Oct. 11, and the Booneville Tigers took the win by an 11-2 final score.

Northeast Mississippi took a 4-0 lead in the first inning with the help of a three-run homer and an RBI single. NW-SCC then answered with two runs in the bottom half of the frame. Alyssa Brown picked up an RBI for the Patriots on a fielder’s choice and an additional run scored while the ball was still in play after the throw to first.

Northeast would later add two runs in the second and fourth innings each and three more in the top half of the fifth in the seven-inning contest.

Northwest-Shoals used two pitchers, with Caroline Clark getting the start in the circle and Mycala Mitchell coming on in relief in the fifth.

Later that same day, the Patriots played the UNA Lions.

“During the fall we started out really, really well playing really good competition,” Brown said. “We’re doing a lot of the little things right, spending a lot more time working on fundamentals and then putting the big picture together.

“We’re halfway through the fall right now. As we progress, the competition gets harder, so we’re at a point where we’ve got to turn it on. They’re getting to see great competition, great pitching, and it’s pushing them a little bit to see where they are mentally.

“I think we’re in a good spot.”