Sowders power hitting early for OHS
Apr. 18—Kaylyn Sowders started the softball season 6-for-6 for Owensboro High School and nearly had a walk-off multi-run home run against Warren Central in a 6-4 loss for the Lady Devils last week.
She is one of two seniors helping to lead the Lady Devils (2-2).
Sowders has been on a serious tear at the plate. She went 2-for-4 with four RBIs against Warren Central, hitting a double and triple before that late at-bat, which almost became a game-winning shot.
As it was, that ball traveled far enough to hit a tree beyond the fences.
"I'm a lefty so I kind of like the inside pitches," Sowders said during an OHS practice Thursday. "Throughout the game I kind of got the timing down. So when I saw that pitch I kind of pushed it through, unfortunately I was a little bit ahead.
"I was excited, but I knew it was going foul. It had the power I wanted it to, it just didn't go in the right direction."
Sowders has practiced, hitting mostly, throughout the year for a long time.
She played travel softball in the summers through eighth grade, until she started playing more basketball.
"But even without travel ball, me and my dad work quite a bit," Sowders said. Her dad is Tony Sowders. "We just get in the batting cages if I don't have anything else going on."
She is hitting .636, going 7-for-11 with three doubles, a triple and 10 RBIs.
"I'm pretty good at getting it in play, but getting it to go far enough is what's been pushing me," Sowders said.
She started playing travel again last summer, with those seasons delayed because of COVID-19 as well, and was joined by a few other OHS teammates.
"You could tell a difference," Sowders said of OHS's early play following its summer league experience.
Sowders has put in a lot of time with the Lady Devils softball program, even playing with the varsity as a middle-schooler.
"They had me be a catcher, up to my freshman year," Sowders said. "Then they had some other girls come around. They wanted to get me out of catching to be a middle infielder."
She is usually at second base now for OHS, but she has been playing shortstop because of lineup adjustments and practice time lost at the start of the season because of a COVID pause.
Sowders knows she has work to do in the field, but she has always been a good athlete and a quick study at learning how to play better.
"You have to know, being intuitive, you have to see where it comes off the bat, it's fascinating to me," Sowders said. "I don't have a lot of speed, but if I read it before it comes off the bat I can get there quicker."
Sowders is looking to study physical therapy in college, and she has put together a skills video that will be sent out in hopes of getting the chance to play somewhere in college as well.
As one of two seniors, along with Hadley Hughes, Sowders knew they would have to be counted on for leadership this season.
"I talk to them about some leadership," Lady Devils coach Quincy Moorman said. "Kaylyn was a basketball player so she got out late, she didn't join us until February, but she knew what we were looking for from her. Leadership ability, just her experience, she's been here for a long time.
"She picks it up, she's definitely an athlete. A lot of kids would've taken some time, especially hitting, but she jumped right in."
Sowders said she was proud of what the OHS girls' basketball team accomplished, going 10-10, and she was a consistent contributor.
The OHS basketball team was young, just like the softball team, and Sowders has also been glad to help younger players on both teams.
OHS softball didn't get to have a season in 2020 because of COVID. The Lady Devils thought they had some potential, and that attitude has carried to this season.
"We have a young group, we have a strong group, we're going to be better in the years to come," Sowders said. "This year, we were going to focus on fundamentals and see how far we can get."
