“THE HAY IS SAFELY IN THE BARN”

As the final outs are recorded on the 2023 fastpitch softball season, the Haskell Haymakers have once again reached the pinnacle of high school sports by advancing to the Class 2A state championship tournament for a second straight season. After racing through the regular season including winning the District 2A-14 title with a 5-1 mark, coach Greg Wilson’s lineup found a higher gear down the stretch winning 13 games in a row en route to punching their ticket to the state tournament.

“This was a total team effort,” explained Wilson who has been head coach at Haskell for 17 seasons. “It is always fun to be around great kids that excel not only on the field but in the classroom as well.” 

The Haymakers stat charts were paced by the everyday efforts of three seniors, RayLin Morgan, Saylor Brown and Kaylee Boutwell, who finished their careers wearing the Haymakers uniform with a combined record of 109 wins and only 25 losses. 

Named the All-District Player of the Year, Morgan’s skills in the circle include a career 98-19 record and .395 batting average. Morgan has committed to play on the college level at Rogers State University. Brown captured Catcher of the Year honors and All-District accolades for a third year in a row finishing with a .395 average at the plate and near perfect .986 fielding percentage. Brown is also committed to RSU.

Also earning All-District awards were juniors Riley Westmoreland (SS) who paced the team batting average for a third straight season hitting at a .553 clip, Hayden Ward (CF) who delivered .387 batting average and .935 fielding percentage along with Layla Markou (RF) who after suffering a torn ACL last January returned to the field this fall posting a .424 average at the plate and .944 percentage defensively. 

“In my mind, every player on this team deserves MVP honors,” said Wilson. 

Haskell finished the year with a 31-9 record.