With a handful of games left in the season, the softball team is trying to finish the year on a strong note.

“We have had our ups and downs,” head coach Lori Alexander said. “We started off really well and our bats got cold and we have struggled a little in district play.”

Alexander said the team needs to find its offensive groove again.

“When our bats are hot, we are too,” Alexander said.

Sophomore pitcher Miranda Worthington noted that actions speak louder than words.

“We don’t need to just have the talk, we need to show it too,” Worthington said.

As of Tuesday’s game against Flower Mound, the team has a district record of 2-9 and are 9-16 overall fighting to make playoffs. Despite playing hard, the girls fell short to Flower Mound 10-4 and put finding a place in the playoffs a harder goal to reach.

“We played better against [Flower Mound] this time,” Alexander said. “I think again we have a mental block when it comes to playing them.”

Improving mental toughness is an area where Alexander wants to see improvement.

“I think our problems are more mental than anything,” Alexander said.

Alexander said she wishes that the team would be more consistent, and have a healthy mental mindset when playing the game.

“I hoped our record would be better since we are solid throughout the lineup, however we are in the toughest 5-A district in the state,” Alexander said. “And when our bats are cold, it is tough to beat these teams.”

When the team is losing, Worthington said it feels as if the team gives up.

“[We] get down on ourselves easy,” Worthington said.

One way Worthington said she contributes is to keep pushing herself as she becomes frustrated when losing by a run or two midway through the game. She wants to keep outside drama outside of the situation, stay positive and believe.

Junior Becca Scott also keeps her outlook positive.

“We [have] a really good team,” Scott said. “And we all contribute in different ways.”

The team travels to face second place Plano [23-3 overall, 10-1 in district] for the second time this season tonight at 7 p.m.