The 11-game road trip WKU took over spring break has players and coaches talking less about strategy and more about chemistry.

WKU (17-7) had a good showing on its long road trip through Georgia and Florida, going 7-4. But Head Coach Tyra Perry said there were some times when they could have executed better.

One of the four losses on the trip came on Friday in Boca Raton, Fla., at the hands of Minnesota with a final score of 1-0, in nine innings.

“We had a lot of opportunities to win that game,” Perry said.

Sophomore pitcher Emily Rousseau picked up the loss despite pitching a complete game with 10 strikeouts.

Perry said she can tell Rousseau (8-3, 2.01 ERA) is getting closer to performing at her peak.

“With every game, every week of practice, she gets closer to her full potential,” she said. “She’s still not there, but she’s making strides in that direction.”

Despite losing their next game on March 10, they ended the road trip on a high note, beating Sun Belt Conference opponent Florida Atlantic 9-3.

Sophomore infielder Amanda Thomas said she’s happy with where the team is despite the ups and downs on the road.

“We’re very confident in each other, ourselves and our coaches,” she said.

She went on to say that the team’s confidence got a boost due to beating league opponent FAU three times.

Junior pitcher and infielder Mallorie Sulaski said confidence also plays a big part in how solid WKU’s defense has looked this season.

“It’s really great for our team that we can be confident in knowing that we can get everybody out,” she said.

Sulaski said the solid defense allows them to focus on getting hits so they can put runs on the board.

Thomas, who has a team-high 24 RBI and is second on the team with six home runs, said in addition to taking their confidence onto the field, it’s equally important to bond with the team on long road trips.

“We have team dinners, and yesterday we were able to go to a Marlins game,” she said. “It’s really fun to be able to do that with the team even though we can’t go out for spring break.”

Sulaski echoed these sentiments, saying, “We have a lot of team bonding, and we’re around each other a lot, so we become close over these trips.”

After the long road trip, WKU will be back at home on Tuesday to play Tennessee Tech, with another home game against Louisville on Wednesday.