Posted: Apr 29, 2021

Young Eastern team building experience in hard-fought season

By Derek Hatridge
McAlester News-Capital

The Lady Mountaineers aren't afraid of a little hard work.

Eastern Oklahoma State College softball has been grinding out its season this spring, and coach Kendra Whisenhunt said she sees how eager her young players are to put in the work.

"We're definitely a young group, but we have a lot of freshmen stepping up," Whisenhunt said. "They're starting to field some big roles for us."

On the field, sophomore Jewell Henry leads the way in the circle, with a 4.56 ERA and 57 strikeouts.

Offensively, the Lady Mountaineers have combined for 54 home runs, with freshman catcher Ryleigh Clinton leading the team with 14 home runs and 58 RBIs.

"We can hit the ball a little bit," Whisenhunt smiled.

Whisenhunt is especially proud of the way her team has battled back after last season's cancelation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said losing the season has made an impact with her sophomores, but that they have been committed to learning while on the job this year.

"They only played four conference games last year, so it's kind of new for them too. They're kind of still freshmen, technically," Whisenhunt said. "It's a lot of learning, but we're throwing them out there and figuring it out quick."

The Lady Mountaineers are now working their way toward their goals of being a top-five team in the conference ahead of the Region II Tournament. But they recently gave Whisenhunt a new career milestone — picking up her 100th win as a head coach with a victory over Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa on Tuesday.

But when asked about the accomplishment, Whisenhunt said staring down that number was more exhausting than anything.

"I just (wanted) to get it over with," she laughed. "It's cool, it's definitely a great first step that you want to have as a coach. That 100 mark is like a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders to get to that number."

Whisenhunt once again pointed to how accomplishments like that wouldn't be possible without the hard work of her players. She's proud of how far they've come, and looks forward to what they can accomplish as they continue to make a push through the demanding competition.

"I've got a lot of grinders," Whisenhunt said. "I keep telling these girls when some days they look tired, 'look, it's a grind...You don't have time to shut down. You've just got to be on all the time.'"