Even after dropping a series to South Florida Saint Louis University softball coach Jim Molloy was upbeat.

Molloy said, “We have a good team. We haven’t turned the corner. We just haven’t put it all together yet.”

In the team’s first ever Conference USA games, the Billikens dropped three contests to South Florida, 9-1, 8-0 and 8-0.

“We played a tough team in South Florida. They have played twice as many games as we have. They hit well. Unfortunately, we didn’t hit well. They pecked away at us. They scored in 14 of the 16 innings,” Molloy said.

Molloy is looking forward to the Bills’ first season in C-USA.

“It is a good conference. I think it may be the second strongest conference. Louisville is good for its first year. UAB has struggled. DePaul is struggling compared to last year. Southern Miss appears to be the strongest team. South Florida is a good team. They started 4-16 and are over .500 now. They have good hitting and good defense,” Molloy said.

The Billikens have their first C-USA home series this weekend against UNC-Charlotte.

“They’ve struggled much like us. We’re going to take it one game at a time. We hope to build on the success we’ve had. We’re really up for this. Hopefully, we’ll have a good crowd,” Molloy said. “Pitching has kept us in games this year. We look for good performances this weekend.”

The Billikens have had some bright spots through their struggles this year. Erin Jeffrey is hitting .324 so far. Beth Puttcamp has played well in right field. Beth Yagge is leading the team in home runs this season.

Molloy feels that the Billikens’ best is yet to come.

“We’re still a little young. We usually have four freshmen on the field at one time. We have a good team,” Molloy said. “We just have to shake the jinx we have.”

“We’re very positive about the rest of the year. It’s easy to get down. But we’ll find our way and win some games this year,” Molloy added.

“The team’s working hard. They know that they are good. We’re being very positive. We have a lot of season left. Given more time, we’ll find ourselves. It’s just a matter of turning the corner. That will bring success. We’re not very far from that,” Molloy said.