Published: August 18, 2008 02:24 pm         

Tupelo reloads

Cupboard not bare for Lady Tigers despite hefty graduation losses

Tupelo — Relatively speaking, Tupelo is just a speck on the map of Oklahoma. But over the last few years, the tiny town in Coal County has been a sports crossroads.

Tupelo’s baseball teams — led by All-Staters Daniel Ingram, Cody Pearce, Casey McCollum, Cameron Mann and Randy McCurry — have been to eight straight state tournaments and have won three Class B championships since 2005. And since taking over Lady Tiger softball, Brian Davis has used a similar stream of talent to establish his program as one of the most successful in the state.

Davis’ first Tupelo squad literally came within one pitch of the state tournament in the fall of 2005, missing a trip to the Big Show on a walkoff home run in the regional finals. Since then, though, the Lady Tigers have been a fixture on Oklahoma softball’s biggest stage.

In the spring of the 2006, Tupelo won its first-ever slowpitch state title, starting a string of five straight state tournament appearances (spring and fall) capped by a run to the Class A slowpitch championship game in May. The Lady Tigers have won 76 of 88 games over the past two fast-pitch seasons and, despite losing a wealth of talent — including seven All-State players — to graduation since 2006, Davis appears to have reloaded this fall.

“We lost some good ones the last few years,” said Davis, who sent Desiree Bell and Katelyn Roberts to the All-State game in 2006; Kendra Pearce (who was named in both slowpitch and fast-pitch), Heather Martin and Brittanie Williams in 2007; and Katie Campbell (another dual selection) and Ari Rice this spring. “There were other seniors who contributed the last three years, but Desiree, Katelyn, Kendra, Brittanie, Heather, Ari and Katie were all MAIN players.”

Campbell (Davis’s stepdaughter) graduated as one of the most decorated athletes in school history and, in addition to being one of Oklahoma’s best shortstops in any class the past four years, she was also a key member of the Tupelo pitching rotation as a junior and senior. Rice, who played third base in slowpitch and was the team’s catcher in fast-pitch the past three years, showed her versatility by pitching Tupelo to the state finals this spring and tossing all nine innings in a 3-3 tie at the slowpitch All-State game earlier this summer.

Most coaches at a school as small as Tupelo would cringe at the thought of replacing players like Campbell and Rice. Davis, though, entered the 2008 fast-pitch season confident his latest Tupelo squad could maintain the reputation for excellence the Lady Tigers have built on his watch.

“We’re starting a freshman, four sophomores, two juniors and two seniors,” Davis said. “The sophomores are a good group, and every one of them played last year. They were the best group of freshmen as a whole that I’ve had. I expect big things out of them this year.

“I think we’ll still be in the top four teams (when the first Class B rankings are released later this month),” he added. “We’re going to pitch well and play good defense and run the bases well. Those are things we always do.”

The Lady Tigers will get a chance to measure themselves against some of the best Class B teams not only in this area but in the entire state in this week’s Tupelo’s Fast-Pitch Invitational Tournament. In addition to Tupelo, the tournament has drawn small-school heavyweights Roff, Moss, Coleman and Stonewall — all expected to be highly ranked in Classes B or A when the first rankings are released.

“It will be tough as always,” Davis said of the tournament, which runs concurrently with the Tupelo Fall Baseball Tournament Thursday through Saturday. “We always try to get as many of the top Class B teams in it as possible. We want to make it an early-season showdown so everybody can see where they’re at. Moss, Roff and us should be three of the top five teams in Class B this year.”

Tupelo, which will host Tushka Monday in its final pre-tournament prep, will face Kiowa at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the 10-team event.

The two Tupelo tournaments are just part of a huge second week of the fall season for area softball and baseball teams.

Ada’s Lady Cougars will square off against Class 2A heavyweights Latta and Dale in the Ada Festival Monday, then they will travel to Byng to play the Lady Pirates Tuesday. Sasakwa, considered a darkhorse for a state tournament berth in Class B, will come to town Thursday, then Ada will play Coalgate and perennial power Bethel at Saturday’s Bethel Festival.

In addition to Tuesday’s visit to Ada, Byng’s Lady Pirates will travel to Dale Thursday, then they will be part of the field at the Seminole Festival Friday and Saturday; Konawa’s Lady Tigers will also spend most of the week on the road, traveling to Tecumseh Tuesday, McLoud Thursday and Healdton Saturday in addition to hosting Dale Friday; Latta will follow its appearance in the Ada Festival with trips to Bethel Thursday and Healdton Saturday; Roff will host Sasakwa Monday before visiting Ardmore Tuesday in preparation for the Tupelo tournament; and Stonewall will be at home against Weleetka Monday, then the Lady Longhorns will visit Vanoss Tuesday before heading to Tupelo for their first-round game Thursday.

Roff — expected to be No. 1 or 2 in Class B baseball when the first rankings are released — heads a field loaded with traditional small-school powers at the Tupelo Tournament, although the host Tigers are in rebuilding mode after dominating Class B with veteran teams for the past four years.

Stonewall will also host its baseball tournament Thursday through Saturday, with Byng and Calvin joining the Longhorns in the local contingent for that event. The most intriguing non-tournament games of the week have Latta at Tupelo Monday and Byng visiting Dale Tuesday.

At Tupelo, Brian Davis will start the seson with just three seniors — Lindsey Davidson, Josie Soukup and Kaci Bullard — on his roster, and he said those three have already assumed a leadership role on his young squad.

“Lindsey and Josie are already working with the young kids and helping them keep their heads up and keep learning,” Davis said.

Davidson, a four-year starter in the outfield at Tupelo, is also expected to see some action on the mound backing up her younger sister, Shanna, and Soukup — who moved from Coalgate last winter but missed the spring slowpitch season after breaking her ankle in a sledding accident — will slide into Campbell’s old spot at shortstop.

“Lindsey has gotten better every year,” Davis said of the elder Davidson, who will play center field and bat clean-up for the Lady Tigers. “You know what you’re going to get from her every day.

“Josie was a great addition to the club,” he said. “I know she’s looking forward to this year since she got hurt and didn’t get to play this spring. With Katie out there, I put so much responsibility on the shortstop; with Josie there, she’s capable of doing all the things I asked of Katie.”

Tupelo’s most versatile player might be junior Megan Bray, who played all over the infield in her first two varsity seasons and will start behind the plate this fall.

“Megan played first and third her freshman year, and she played second and caught some last year,” Davis said. “She’s my utility player. She’s going to be pretty good everywhere I stick her, and she works hard and wants to get better.”

The Lady Tigers’ other junior is outfielder Amber Roberson, who will play right field in most games and center when Lindsey Davidson pitches.

“Amber’s going to be a big key this year,” Davis said of Roberson. I think this is going to be her breakout year. She has good speed, her arm’s gotten a lot stronger over the summer, and we’re doing some different things with her this year. She’s kind of been in the shadows of everybody else the last couple of years, but she’s a good ballplayer.”

One of the area’s best all-around athletes, Shanna Davidson was a sparkling 18-7 in her first season as a varsity pitcher, and she and Soukup give Tupelo a quick 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup. Davis said he puts more pressure on Davidson than he would most sophomores.

“I brought Shanna in this year and told her, fair or unfair, she would have to be a leader this year,” he explained. “I asked her if she was mentally tough enough to handle it and she said ‘yes’. She’s a great athlete — she can do just about everything. We worked on her slapping (the ball) this year, and she took to it like a fish to water. She works hard and wants to get better at everything she does.”

With the exception of Soukup, the entire Tupelo infield will be made up of sophomores. Landra Nelson will hit in the middle of the order and replace the underrated Kylie Curry (a three-year starter) at first base, Grace Leland will take over at second, and Chesna Henry and Shanna Davidson will play third.

“Landra was my DH all last year in fast-pitch, and she really came into her own this summer and into the fall,” Davis said. “She’s still learning to play first base. At this point, she doesn’t play defense quite as well as Kylie, but she’s a better hitter.

“Grace is a great athlete, and speed-wise, she’s probably the second fastest girl on the team...I can do a lot of things with her offensively, and she’s gotten really solid at second base,” Davis said of Leland. “Chesna (who will play right field when Shanna Davidson isn’t pitching) played third base at the start of last season, then she moved to left field. Third base isn’t an easy position to play, but she’s coming on. She has quick hands and a strong arm, and I expect some pretty good power numbers from her.”

Power hitters — especially Roberts, Rice and Campbell — have been a trademark of Davis’s previous Tupelo squads, but he said this year’s team will rely more on speed and manufacturing runs to complement what should be a solid pitching staff of Lindsey and Shanna Davidson and freshman Tamara Thompson (who will split time with Bullard in left field).

“This is the fastest team I’ve had since I’ve been here, and we’re going to have use our speed instead of just sitting back and waiting for the big inning,” Davis said.

He was quick to add, however, that a drop in power numbers won’t necessarily translate into a decline in the Lady Tigers’ victory total this fall.

“I believe over the last two years we’ve gained a lot of respect around the state, but these girls aren’t just living on respect,” he said. “We tell them that they’re only as good as their last season. When they pull up at our field every day, they can see the teams that came before them and what they’ve accomplished. I know this team wants to continue that tradition.”

     

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.