JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — You have to go back to March 11 to find the last time Edward Waters Softball lost a game.
The Tigers have won nine straight and sit at 24-4 a little more than halfway through the regular season.
Their success on the diamond this season is a testament to the program head coach Billy Rodgers and his staff have built.
Rodgers has coached the Tigers for a couple years but took over as head coach before this season, after former head coach Brian Daley left.
Originally from Rome, Georgia, Rodgers went to Georgia Southern to play baseball but it didn't really work out for him with the Eagles.
After college he went to work for Walmart and ended up with the company for over 30 years.
He knows a little something about facing adversity in life, something he says a lot of his players have dealt with in their lives prior to coming to Edward Waters.
He also knows there's a lot more to life than softball and is committed to molding these girls into successful people beyond the field.
He says the Tigers, who won over 30 games last season while being shorthanded, pride themselves on faith, family, academics, softball and the community.
Rodgers has recruited a talented roster with players from as far as Australia and Chicago, but also plenty of local talent.
He has the Tigers primed to make a run at a championship and built for success moving forward.
"The core beliefs that we've established have been important. We're talented and they work really hard. So all of that coupled together we've just kind of been almost a perfect storm over the last couple of years to get to this point," Rodgers said.
Senior Tiara Peters, who went to Fleming Island High School, attended Concord University in West Virginia before transferring to Edward Waters prior to her junior year.
"I feel like we're still growing. We haven't yet made that peak yet but I know we're getting there. We're getting there for sure," Peters said.
Peters' teammates voted her captain of this season's Tigers Softball squad.
But it's not just her teammates who she's gained the respect of.
Rodgers offered her an assistant coach position with the Tigers after she graduates. An offer she more than happily accepted.
Senior catcher Emily Smith is another local product.
She attended Paxon School for the Advanced Studies and says her senior year has been a dream so far.
"Playing with these girls they make my last season special. I wouldn't want to do it with anybody else," Smith said.