The Rogers State University Hillcat softball team has started its inaugural fall season and has several competitive opponents on the schedule for the fall.
The Hillcat softball team opened its fall season at the Emporia (Kan.) State University Festival, where it competed against the host team, Emporia State, Washburn University, and McPherson College.
The Hillcats have also played at the University of Tulsa and traveled to Fayetteville, Ark. on Sept. 24 to play Texarkana College, the University of Arkansas, and Carl Albert State College as part of the University of Arkansas Festival.
The Hillcats next play at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin at 4 p.m. today. Their fall season concludes with a 1 p.m. game at Pittsburg (Kan.) State University on Saturday, Oct. 1.
Earlier this year, RSU began pursuing opportunities to have its softball and baseball teams intercollegiately. On Sept. 26, RSU was accepted to begin competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
The Hillcat softball team is coached by Dawn Reed, who previously served as the head softball coach at Bacone College. While at Bacone, Reed established a nationally recognized NAIA program which finished ranked in the top fifteen the previous two seasons. She joined RSU in June, and quickly began assembling her squad.
“I’m excited about getting the program started here at RSU,” Reed said. “We were able to attract a lot of talent to the program, and I am confident about our team’s potential.”
The RSU softball team is fielding 17 players with a variety of high school and junior college experience. The roster, listed by position, classification and high school with college experience noted in parentheses, includes:
Jenny Ailshie, junior, shortstop/second base, Claremore (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College); Jessica Chisum, freshman, pitcher, Owasso; Leesha Dunbar, freshman, outfielder, Berryhill; Somer Dykes, junior, catcher, Tulsa (Eastern Oklahoma State College); Denise Garcia, junior, utility player, Pasadena, Calif. (Pasadena Community College); Amanda Hanner, freshman, third base/pitcher, Shawnee; Megan Hebert, freshman, pitcher, Broken Arrow; Whitney Metcalf, freshman, outfielder/shortstop, Pawhuska; Bridget Stewart, junior, pitcher/first base, Owasso (Eastern Oklahoma State College); Krista Schlumpberger, freshman, catcher/outfielder, Vacaville, Calif.; Amanda Stanley, sophomore, utility player, Owasso (Cowley College); Carlee Suchy, junior, outfielder, Purcell (Paris Junior College); Terren White, junior, second base, Nowata (Coffeyville Community College); Lisa Whitney, junior, first base/third base, Whittier, Calif. (Cypress Junior College); Samantha Sumter, freshman, utility player, Oologah; Sarah Burns, freshman, pitcher, Oklahoma City; and Megan Wood, freshman, utility player, Claremore.
Teresa Beech, a former TU softball player, is serving as a part-time assistant coach overseeing pitching, and Bianca Oakley, a former player for Reed at Bacone, is serving as a student assistant while she completes her undergraduate degree at RSU.
A more extensive softball schedule is planned for the spring semester with games tentatively planned against Bacone, Southern Nazarene University, Oklahoma Christian University, Pittsburg (Kan.) State University, Texas Wesleyan University, Oklahoma City University and more.
For more information on RSU Hillcat softball, call (918) 343-7562.