The Weatherford Lady Eagles middle school softball team has had a special season so far in 2020.
Weatherford currently has a record of 22-5-2 and is coached by Michelle Olander.
“It is a great group of girls who are really talented,” Olander said. “A lot of these girls played with me last season and I already had good relationships with them. They always give 110 percent and are just great kids. If they keep working hard, a lot of them can play softball in college if they keep improving at the rate they are.”
Olander said the team has talent and if they keep improving at the rate they are, they can be really good at the high school level.
“As long as they keep a good work ethic and work at softball, they can be really good at the high school level,” Olander said. “All the girls have great attitudes and if they keep it going, they will be really successful in high school.”
Some of the better players are Harlie Chism who plays on a national team and has stepped up and pitched really well. Marley Teasley is the ace pitcher and Olander said she is lights out and will be a great asset. Karsen McPherson is the catcher. Kaitlyn Bryant is the third baseman and Olander said she is really good at bunting the softball.
Olander said there have been so many great moments and memories from this season, but her favorite memory was getting revenge against Tuttle, winning 5-3. McPherson hit the game-winning home run. Weatherford has not lost to any team more than once this season.
Earlier in the season, we went down to Tuttle and lost by 1 run in a tournament,” Olander said. “We played bad and got down 5-0 early and made a comeback but lost by a run. We got revenge when we played Tuttle again at home — hit the game winning home run and we won 5-3.”
Olander has lived in Weatherford since she was 2 years old and graduated in 1997 from Weatherford and came back to Weatherford to teach in 2004.
Olander coached softball 10 years ago, but quit coaching because she wanted to be around her family.
This past weekend, the team went unbeaten in the Arapaho-Butler tournament and Olander said the girls came up clutch in key moments.
Another great accomplishment from the Lady Eagles was winning their home tournament. On the first day of the tournament, they defeated Mountain View-Gotebo and Loobeka-Sickles. The next day, they run-ruled Hydro-Eakly and played Mountain View-Gotebo in the championship game.
“Honestly, I was nervous about this tournament,” Olander said. “Even though it was a small school tournament, these schools bring it and have great athletes. We played really well and I was super proud of them. I could tell Saturday was going to be a great day at batting practice because we practiced really well and executed in the tournament.”
Their final game of the season was against Woodward last evening. Oleander said there are important life lessons to learn while playing softball, such as always being respectful, caring about others and telling the truth at all times.
“I always tell my girls we play softball for the school and to always be respectful,” Olander said. “It is good to represent Weatherford really well and we want to be good sports to everyone. I tell my girls to always tell the truth and to be honest. Hard work always gets noticed and I love how my girls have learned to give me 110 percent.”