3 RIVERS PLAYERS TO WATCH
Avery Williams – Eufaula
Avery handles a majority of the pitching duties for the team and she plays shortstop when she is not pitching. While in the circle, she gives her team a chance to compete in every game. She works fast and throws a ton of strikes thus really manages the pace and flow of the game.
Kaiah Austin – Fort Gibson
Austin works hard and is a solid softball player. She is also an outstanding teammate and an example for the underclassmen to look at.
Cadi Shoemake – Gore
Cadi is a girl that has filled positions the last few years. She has played center field, right field, and now she is stepping in at shortstop. She will also bat leadoff.
Lynzi Kelley – Haskell
She is an extreme competitor which leads by example. Lynzi has outstanding career stats and will be a definite asset for someone at the next level.
Kinley Brand – Heavener
Brand is Heavener’s number one pitcher. She earned eighteen of the team’s twenty-one wins last season. She also batted above .470 and she looks to have another big season.
Lexi Cramp – Hilldale
Lexi is a four year starter and a leader among her teammates. Last season, she led the team in hitting average, home runs, RBIs, and walks.
Abby Huie – Howe
Abby is the returning shortstop that had a solid season last year. She hit 0.414 with 30 RBIs with an OPS of 1.042. She makes every effort to lead by example on the field, by being early to practice, always picking up her teammates and working hard at every practice.
Jaliyah Simmons – Muskogee
Jaliyah is an all around key player. Whether it be in the circle or in the box her team can always count on her to pull through with something big. She is a leader on and off the field.
Gabbi Garcia – Okmulgee
Gabbie has caught every game for the last three years. She has improved drastically coming into her senior year.
Brynn Surmont – Oktaha
Brynn catches and plays third base but can play anywhere. She has a great arm and is a great leader on and off the field. She is an outstanding teammate.
Allyssa Parker – Pocola
Highly recruited player and an outstanding pitcher. She throws in the mid-60’s, also a terrific hitter and shortstop.
Taylan Starr – Preston
Taylan is a very talented incoming freshman that has received several awards. She is a five tool player with speed, great glove, great arm, hits for average and power. She will pitch and play shortstop this season.
Dara Hamlin – Stigler
She is a four-year starter and the team will go as she goes. Dara is always at her best in the big games, she is a solid leader and a great competitor.
Taya Ross – Stilwell
Taya is a young lady who plays with a lot of heart. She always leaves it all in the field. She is a spark plug and does a great job helping lead the team. She hit over .400 as a freshman and hit .367 last season.
Jayley Ray – Tahlequah
Three year starter for the Lady Tigers, Ray has anchored the third base position the last two seasons with an impressive career fielding percentage of .966. Ray has lead the team in sacrifice bunts the past three seasons.
Maci Smith – Vian
Smith is going to be a senior and will be playing shortstop. Last year she hit .442 with one home run and twenty-five RBIs. She looks to continue to lead the team this season.
Kaylen Park – Warner
She led the team in batting average, slugging percentage, and RBIs. Park only struck out two times all season. She will play catcher but has the ability to play any position.
UNDERCLASSMEN TO WATCH
Kate Pippenger – Eufaula
Pippenger earned the leadoffspot last season and she was a consistent hitter for the team. She is a player that just hopes a ball gets close enough to swing at and hit hard. As a freshmen, Kate batted .319 with 30 stolen bases. Defensively, she is very solid and has a ton of range getting to multiple balls and giving her team chances to get outs in difficult situations.
Kristjan Cantrell – Fort Gibson
On and off the field, Cantrell is a great teammate that works hard and is always ready to help her team.
Kendra Huckbay – Gore
Kendra will be at second base again this season. She has worked really hard the last year to improve her game. She is looking to have a solid year.
Riley Westmoreland – Haskell
Riley is very athletic and versatile, she had a great freshman year hitting .443. She has good speed and hits from the lefthand side.
Darian Diles – Hilldale
Very athletic freshman who hits with power, has a tremendous arm from the outfield and behind the plate, and has great speed on the bases.
Joz Johnson – Howe
In her freshman year she played in every game and lead the team in batting average with .429.
Terrah Williams – Muskogee
Terrah will be a huge asset to the team this year. Coming in as a freshman she will have a lot of learning to do but her athleticism and grit will keep her pushing.
Natori Yates – Okmulgee
A very good shortstop that covers a lot of ground with an above average arm.
Hannah Focht – Oktaha
Hannah led the team in home runs last year as a freshman. She plays left field but can truly play anywhere, even catcher.
She plays the game hard with non stop hustle which makes her an important part of the team.
Lety Parga – Pocola
One of the best young athletic catchers in the area, started as a freshmen, can hit and run as well.
Kristen Holuby – Preston
Kristen will be an incoming freshman that hits for average and power. She is very talented with a good glove and arm.
Avery Knight – Stillwell
Avery will be a sophomore this year. She hit clean-up most of her freshman year and had great at-bats in that spot. She hit .373 and led the team in RBIs with 29.
Riley Dotson – Tahlequah
Riley is a very capable freshman pitcher who competes at a high level. A talented right-handed pitcher with good velocity and movement on her pitches. When not pitching Riley will compete for a spot in the outfield rotation.
Lakaila Drew – Vian
Lakaila is a Junior who has started on the Vian Fastpitch team for two years. She is the lead off hitter who makes the team go. She does a great job at second base and does a great job batting, having an average of .395, one home run, and eighteen RBIs.
Harlie Chesser – Warner
Chesser is a hard worker the is ready to make an impact on the field for her team. She knows and loves the game of softball.
UNSUNG HEROES
Liberty Glover – Eufaula
Liberty has pitched all three seasons and is the lone senior on the team this year. Last year she pitched 66 inning while going 10-4 with 57 strikeouts and a 2.34 ERA.
Payton Russell – Fort Gibson
Russell is a behind the scenes player that still plays a big role for the team. She is always ready to help out anyway she can.
Hayden Ward – Haskell
Hayden just seems to be that go-to-girl. She will find a way to get on base and it seems that she is the spark that gets things going.
Cayleigh McGee – Heavener
A lot of people do not understand the significance of having a good catcher behind the plate. Blocking balls and getting strikes for the pitcher are things only coaches notice. McGee is one of those catchers that always has an impact on Heavener’s games.
Jaye Barnoski – Muskogee
Jaye is a quite kid. She may not say much out loud but her actions on and off the field speak very loud. She is a hard worker off the field through preseason workouts and continues it onto the playing field.
Tot Harris – Okmulgee
Tot has been a big time player at second base. She can cover a lot of ground and has very good speed from the left side of the plate.
MacKenzie Eaves – Oktaha
MacKenzie is the epitome of a team first mentality player. She pitches, catches, plays first base and will literally do whatever it takes to help the team win. She is a great teammate and a vocal player on the field.
Kylee Smith – Pocola
Smith is a four-year starter at third base. She plays excellent defense and hits for average.
Kinlee Basquez – Preston
Kinlee is one of those players that can play anywhere. She will do a lot of pitching this year and when not she will fill the holes that need to be filled.
Katelyn Wilson – Stillwell
Katelyn is a tough young lady that is not afraid to take a ball off the chest, on the infield or take a pitch in the batters box. She plays hard every game and is a fun player to watch. She also hit .412 and had 15 stolen bases as a freshman.
Charlea Cochran – Tahlequah
Charlea is a very talented middle infielder that has started at second base the past two seasons. She has a career batting average of .304 and has driven in 41 RBIs over the past two seasons. Charlea is the ultimate practice player. Charlea works extremely hard every day to improve every facet of her game.
