Feature: One name, one goal

Pitchers Jaycee Kelln and Jaycee Shaffer have been shaking it up this season as OBU softball reaches a 34-8 record in mid-April. To avoid confusion in practice, the senior pitcher from Cyril, Oklahoma goes by "Jaycee" while her freshman counterpart from Alva is referred to as "Kelln." However, this doesn't prevent the occasional mix up between players and coaches in the locker room.

"It gets confusing though because sometimes they still call me Jaycee and so I'm like 'wait are you talking to me or are you talking to Jaycee?'" Kelln said.

Despite the confusion around the name, the two Jaycee's feed off each other's success and support one another throughout the season, both on and off the diamond.
"I feel like we work good together and kind of build off each other pretty well," Shaffer said.

When they're not pitching strikes for the Bison, you may find them in a lip-sync battle during team bonding exercises or spending time as roommates for away games. In either case, the two share a chemistry that is evident despite their senior-freshman dynamic.

"It's fun and it's good. I'm glad that she's not thrown to the wolves by herself for her freshman year. So, I'm glad that I can be here to kind of help support her through stuff that happens and calm her down or hype her up," Shaffer said.

"She obviously is the leader for our team. I get to help her out, pick her up, and she picks me up. Our teammates in the lineup do a great job of run support and help us feel comfortable in what we do," Kelln said.

Both Jaycee's agreed that outside of their bond, their entire unit shares a close bond this season that has contributed to their success on the field.

"I think we've done well. I think we've obviously won a lot of games. We haven't been perfect, but I think we have a great staff, great mix of speed, different looks of different pitchers and I think we've done pretty well so far, but there's always room for improvement," Kelln said.

As the leader of the team, Shaffer's contribution to improvement consists of encouraging her teammates and making sure they're comfortable in their pitches. Meanwhile, Kelln adjusts to the speed of GAC softball and appreciating the game.

'And with the top record in the conference, the results speak for themselves. 

"It feels good," Shaffer said.