Ryan Davenport is coach of the new Russellville Middle School softball team. We asked him to share with readers of The LoJo how the team got started and how the building process is going.

Last year we didn’t have enough girls to field a team. I was concerned about our students not having the opportunity to play middle school softball like other girls in different schools had. I have a daughter coming up and she may not want to play softball but if she does I want her to at least have the opportunity. Having a middle school softball program is so important in building a great high school team.

 I asked Mrs. (Principal Kim) McDaniel what could be done about this and she said my agreeing to coach them. So I agreed to do it. I’ve been coaching 15 years but never coached a girls sport. I didn’t know what to expect going in, but this is most fun I’ve ever had coaching. These are a great group of girls that are eager to learn and love the game. I’m having a blast.

I have only three girls with playing experience at this level. We have three 4^th graders, one 5^th grader, two6th graders, and three 7^th graders playing against teams that consist mostly 7^th and 8^th graders. We do have great 8^th grade leadership coming from Tonisha Hampton, Taryn Gray, Brooklyn Ray, and Elly Myers. But even they don’t have much experience, if any, playing middle school softball.

The improvement these girls have made is remarkable. No words can describe how far along they have come, but a lot of people have volunteered their time to make that happen. Mike Duncan (assistant coach), Felix Gilbert (assistant coach), Gary Gray, P.J. Jones, Calvin Head, Tiffany Gray, Tara Gilbert, Reggie Collier, Amy Alford, Seth Whittaker and many others have volunteered their time on the field. The support and enthusiasm from parents and administration has been overwhelming.

After tryouts we had three weeks to prepare for our first game. The girls worked extremely hard. We didn’t pick up a bat the first three practices. For three solid weeks we worked on nothing but fundamentals. I brought in (former Todd Central softball coach) Calvin Head several times to work on hitting and fielding fundamentals. I also invited (former professional baseball and softball player) P.J. Jones to work out with the girls. He spent two hours working with them on hitting and fielding fundamentals as well.

All the hard work is finally paying off. We picked up our first win versus Moss Middle School. The score was 7-6. We trailed 6-3 entering the last inning. Down 6-4 with bases loaded, 4^th grader Amiya Collier hit a double that scored two runs to tie the game. Moss was intentionally walking Taryn Gray when a pitch got by the catcher and 4^th grader Jaylah Kees scored the winning run. 8^th grader Gray was the winning pitcher. Scoring runs were Hampton, Tamera Baskerville, Hannah Alford, Kees, LeeLee McCarley, Chloe Whitcarver, and Halle York.

On Monday we played a good Todd County team and even though we lost both games, we played extremely well. First game was 9-7. We had 15 putouts, which is a great improvement for us, and only two errors the whole game. McCarley had three putouts in centerfield. We led 6-3 after three innings. Hampton hit a gram slam and scored 2 runs. Gray pitched a complete game and scored two runs. Brooklyn Ray went two for three, scoring two runs and Collier scored a run.

In the second game we lost 5-4. Fifth grader Addie Mosier pitched 2 1/3 innings, only giving up one earned run and striking out four batters. Ray went two for two scoring a run. Gray, Hampton, and Hannah Alford scored runs. All players got on base this game.

We play again Monday versus Butler Co. at home. Game starts at 5:30.