Coming into the season the Mustang slowpitch team was considered one of the top teams in the state. Head coach Lacy Darity led her team to the state semifinals last year and with the return of key players at key positions, Darity felt this team could grow into something special.
“I am looking forward to watching this team compete and grow as the season goes along. We have a lot of new faces in our lineup this season and they are just starting to get this game figured out. It’s been really fun to watch them learn and have some big wins early in the season,” said Darity.
Some of those wins include victories over Moore, Southmoore, Westmoore, and Guthrie. The team also swept the Dibble Tournament in early March. Heading into April, Mustang is a perfect 8-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class 6A.
Coach Darity, who is in her third season at the helm of the program, said she has several players who are making their presence felt at the plate and in the field.
“Eden Anderson is a junior infielder who has three years starting experience hitting in the middle of the lineup. She is a big threat at the plate every at bat. Lexy Kierstead is a freshman utility player who has shown great power early on. She and Eden provide a really nice one-two punch in the top of our lineup. Emerson Pegram is a junior who took over pitching duties last season in the playoffs and pitched us to the semi-finals. Kenzie Sessions and Rylee Hannon are two veteran leaders in the outfield who provide our team with a lot of speed,” said Darity. “We’ve hit the ball well early in the season. Through seven games we’ve hit 34 homeruns and scored 119 runs. It’s been a lot of fun to watch so far, and we know we still have improvements to make.”
Big games loom on the schedule and as the team continues to slice their way through the competition, coach Darity knows there are challenges ahead.
“The challenges with our schedule are the schedule itself. There are no easy games on our schedule. We will play everyone ranked in the top 10 of Class 6A at least once if not twice, as well as teams like Washington and Rock Creek. There are no days off, but we did that on purpose to challenge this team and see where we stack up against the best,” said Darity.
The Lady Broncos will participate in the Washington Tournament before getting back into their 6A schedule that features Moore, Choctaw, Deer Creek, and Westmoore. They will close out the regular season with a home game against defending Class 5A champion North Rock Creek.
Photo by Ron Lane/Lane Images
