The Lady Wildcats played six games in three days this week at the Cherokee Summer Invitational, splitting 3-3 against some of the region's best teams.
Two of those losses came Wednesday, as Woodland fell 14-5 to Harris County and 7-3 to Kennesaw Mountain. Casey Bucy took the losses on the mound.
"We lost a little focus and made some costly errors that became something big for our opponents," head coach Colman Roberts said.
Still, the competition offered Woodland coaches a good look at the players who will replace six starters lost to graduation.
Wednesday's twin losses weren't what the coaches wanted to see but are to be expected on a team that will be filled with a lot of new faces. Roberts said there were a lot of positives playing in the invitational. "[We] got a lot of at-bats and defensive work, which is what we need."
Wednesday games
The Lady Wildcats came up on the short end of their game against Harris County Wednesday, losing by nine runs.
Providing the offense for Woodland were Sydney Flowers, 1-of-2; Bucy, 1-of-2 with a double; Bailey Roberts, 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs; Emma Hicks, 1-for-2 with two RBIs.
The Bartow school played Kennesaw Mountain tougher, falling short by four runs.
Powering the offense was Taylor Braselton, 1-for-1; Bucy, 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI; Lacey Fritz, 1-for-2; Darby Cagle, 1-for-2; Cheyanne Burt, 1-for-2 with a double and two RBIs; Hicks, 1-for-2.
Woodland went 3-1 Monday and Tuesday, beating North Cobb 9-0, South Paulding 4-2, and East Paulding 11-0. It lost to River Ridge 2-1. Bucy pitched in all of Woodland's games.
Roberts said the Woodland JV team also played six games at the invitational, splitting its final two on Wednesday.
"Our JV team won one game 6-5 and lost the second 6-5," he said. "They were 4-2 for the invitational."
Roberts said about 30 Woodland players from both teams participated.
"They all got to play," he said. "No one sat."
Roberts said the team's conditioning program seemed to be paying dividends. Instead of spending time in the weight room, the Lady Wildcats work out about three days a week to videos that challenge them physically.
"I definitely saw more speed and quickness and more upper body strength," the coach said. "You can tell it [the new fitness program] is paying dividends."
He said the team will take something of a break now and then "get back going."