SOFTBALL: Youth movement delivers for Science & Arts in 2023

Austin Litterell, The Express-Star, Chickasha, Okla.
·3 min read

May 30—A youth movement has been going on within the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma softball program.

Science & Arts entered the 2023 season with mostly freshmen and sophomores making up the roster. Even if multiple sophomores gained experience in 2022, the point still stands that the Drovers were a young team.

But the Drovers were a young team that also had promise.

"Very, very young team with lots of talent," head coach Jadyn Wallis said to describe the team after winning an NAIA Softball National Championship Opening round title.

And that description seemed to be accurate for a team that went 42-15, won the Sooner Athletic Conference's tournament and advanced to the NAIA Softball World Series. The numbers show just how young the Drovers were in 2023.

Science & Arts' online roster had a total of 22 players listed, and 14 of those 22 were either freshmen or sophomores in 2023. That total was 63.6% of the entire roster.

Narrowing down the numbers, freshmen made up 50% of the entire roster. The roster also consisted of three sophomores, four juniors and four seniors.

And the younger players stepped up when the Drovers needed them to.

From a pitching standpoint, a sophomore and three freshmen pitched all but 1 1/3 innings during the 2023 season and threw multiple no-hitters to go along with an SAC Co-Pitcher of the Year honor and a first-team All-SAC honor.

Sophie Williams — a sophomore — earned the SAC pitching honors for the Drovers, and freshman Abi Gregory tossed three no-hitters in a row during one stretch of the season. Malea McMurtrey — a freshman — earned an SAC Gold Glove honor for her defense in the infield.

Offensively, five of the 16 players hit above .300 on the season and made up seven of the top nine averages on the team. A freshman like Jadyn Goucher had her season cut short but finished second on the team in categories like home runs and slugging percentage.

Freshmen players like Isabela Portillo and Taygan Graham stepped up when needed and had to play larger roles for the Drovers in the second half of the season because of injuries.

Portillo entered the conference tournament championship game with just 10 official at-bats. She went 3-for-3 and had an RBI in the team's win.

Graham drove in the team's only run during a 1-0 win over the University of Mobile that sent the Drovers to the World Series.

The All-SAC honors also showed how the younger players stepped up throughout the season. In total, six freshmen and sophomores earned some sort of recognition from the conference this past season, joining older players by doing that.

That group of freshmen and sophomores included Williams, Sierra Selfridge, McMurtrey, Goucher, Jaylee Willis and Slater Eck. Williams and Selfridge also earned NFCA All-Region recognition along with senior Jaclyn Gray.

Science & Arts might not have seen the season end the way it wanted, but that does not make the season meaningless. A young team gained valuable experience and proved that the future is still bright in Chickasha.