There’s a reason why the Southern softball players has a little swagger to their step.

"We won the western division,” sophomore pitcher Megan Hodge said. “Not only did we win it, we swept a lot of teams."

After taking three games against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Lady Jaguars clinched their fifth straight division title, earning them number a one seed and a first round bye in the 2008 SWAC tournament.

"The ones that were on the team last year, they are the ones that are really excited,” head coach Nancy Marshall said. “And the freshmen are the ones that are really trying to figure out, ‘ok, what is this SWAC thing?’"

There may be several newcomers on the squad, but they are well aware of what happened in 2007.

"Last year, we lost the SWAC championship on our home field,” sophomore first baseman Jasmine Williams said.

The Lady Jags want nothing more than to put an end to the chance of a Mississippi Valley State five-peat, but it may be tough to get to the Delta Devilettes with everyone gunning for them.

"We’ve got to take it one game at a time, one inning at a time, one batter at a time, one out at a time. We can’t look too far ahead of ourselves because we have a big target on our backs.”

It’s been five years since the ladies have been able to put up a SWAC tournament championship banner, but that isn’t the only incentive the Jags have to bring another title home.

"It hurt to lose the championship to our rivals and its given us motivation to do it to someone else, to put someone out of the tournament on their field."

“Some of them can still feel it and some of them have that pain inside."

Whether its last year’s pain or this year’s hunger that’s motivating this team, one thing is for sure.

"For the ones that have been there before, they have had a taste of it and they want it."