Winning close games and being successful in area are at the core of the Opp Lady Bobcats’ goals this season.

Opp is currently on spring break, but the Lady Bobcats will be back in action next Tuesday when they host Elba at 4 p.m. starting with junior varsity.

Opp coach Scott Gafford said this season has started “pretty good” for his team, which is coming off a 12-22 season last year.

“I think so far, we’ve gotten off to a pretty good start,” Gafford said. “I would have liked to have won some of the closer games, but we’ve been in just about every game that we’ve played. I’ve been happy with that.”

The Lady Bobcats are 6-4, 0-2 in Class 4A, Area 2. The two area losses were to Ashford and St. James.

Gafford said what the team has done well lies on the mound and off the field.

“I think, except for a few things here and there, I think the pitching has been really good,” he said. “Except for a few games we’ve hit the ball pretty well. The kids have had a good attitude and they have worked hard and they’ve started to believe that we can win those big games I think.”

Even though they have lost two area games already, the Lady Bobcats have some time to prepare for their next area game, which is on Mon., March 30, at Brewbaker Tech.

Gafford said he thinks the team has a good “chance” to be successful in area.

“I think we’ve got a chance to win some of those games against Bullock (County) and Brewbaker (Tech),” Gafford said. “Both St. James and Ashford are going to be a battle.

“We’re going to have to play well, but we have a pretty good chance,” he said. “Even the St. James game wound up 5-0 (earlier in the season), but it was 2-0 and it was pretty close throughout the game except right at the end.”

After their game on March 30, the Lady Bobcats will finish out their area games in early April.

“I think we’ve got a chance to play with anybody,” Gafford said. “We’ve just got to make sure we play well against St. James and Ashford.”

The Lady Bobcats’ next game against St. James is on the road April 16 at 5 p.m. and they travel to Ashford on April 20 at 4:30 p.m.