SHAWNEE – A loaded returning roster, experienced coaches and a few potential instant-impact transfers have the 2024 version of Oklahoma Baptist softball brimming with confidence as the season opens this week.
OBU will participate in the Mardi Gras Invitational for a second straight year, beginning with Augustana (S.D.) on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. Friday's slate presents a doubleheader against No. 3 Central Oklahoma (11:30 am) and No. 24 Mississippi College (4:30 pm). The event wraps up on Saturday with games against Texas A&M-Kingsville (9:00 am) and Union (11:30 am). A season ago, Oklahoma Baptist posted a 5-0 record there in Louisiana, including a win over then-ranked No. 6 TAMUK. It was the first top-10 win in the program's Division II era.
Live stats will not be available for any of the contests.
In 2023, OBU won the Great American Conference regular-season title, claimed its first-ever NCAA Tournament win, and came very close to advancing out of the opening weekend of NCAA Central Region Tournament play.
The list of returners for Sam Maples, the GAC Coach of the Year in 2023, now in her sixth season, is impressive. GAC Pitcher of the Year and program great Kayleigh Jones is back in the circle. All-GAC First Team selections Kennedy Clark, Emily Adler and Adi Reese are back as well as second-team honorees Sammie Greene and Morgan Max.
To further demonstrate the talent that's back in Shawnee, look at last year's stats and compare it to this year's returning roster. Emily and Sydney Adler, Clark, Max, Reese, Greene, Ally Ryan, Samantha Campos and Reagan Ford accounted for 395 hits and 211 runs scored. That's nearly 88 and 78 percent, respectively, of the team's hits and runs from a season ago.
As for Jones, who was also an NFCA and D2CCA All-America First Team selection last season, she'll bring 65 career wins into this campaign, most-ever in OBU history, as well as the most strikeouts (766) in program history. The Claremore, Okla., native also has four no-hitters in her career.
There are also two more names to keep an eye on for this year's Bison: Cassidy Morrow and Ayzia Shirey. Both are newcomers with Morrow from Eastern Arizona College and Shirey from Grayson College.
Last season, Morrow compiled a whopping 93 hits for Eastern Arizona and was named an All-ACCAC Second Team Selection. She helped lead the Lady Monsters to a NJCAA Region I Championship and NJCAA National Tournament appearance. On top of her hit total, Morrow blasted 17 homers with 68 RBI. Defensively, Morrow was very good, notching a .989 fielding percentage with 255 putouts.
As for Shirey, in 57 contests last season at Grayson, the Shawnee native recorded 65 hits, scored 50 runs, and drove in 41. She also hit 10 doubles, five homers, two triples and registered a .603 slugging mark.
