BY NOAH GRIFFITH
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA —
Opelika High School Softball has all six of its seniors batting over the .300 mark, but the Bulldogs are still finding their identity as a first-year 7A team.
At 10-12, OHS is 0-3 in region play with two double-digit losses to Central and one to Auburn. However, head coach Jessica Thornton said she thinks the team’s best play is yet to come. They’re getting major contributions from their seniors, but the Bulldogs are still trying to piece that individual success together.
“I hope that we peak at the right moment and find [our identity] in the next couple of weeks,” Thornton said. “We’ve learned that consistency really is key, and it’s attacking each game with the same mentality rather than playing up or down to our opponents.”
That individual success all starts with senior two-way player McKay Yountz. She leads the team, hitting for a .423 average, while striking out 66 batters across 65 innings.
But it doesn’t stop there. Seniors Nylen Thomas (.407), Memoree Lyles (.319), Rylee Long (.312), KD Lee (.306) and Sanai Stringer (.304) have helped Opelika rally for five double-digit scoring games. In region play, on the other hand, Opelika has scored just six runs in three games.
The Bulldogs boast wins over Beauregard, Horseshoe Bend, Pike Road, Russell County, Eufala, BRHS and Dadeville, while they have fallen victim to Holtville, Brewbaker Tech, Moody, Marbury, Tallassee, Beauregard, Beulah, Central and Auburn.
“I think the biggest challenge [moving to 7A] is just that area games mean more, so where it used to just be a rivalry, now it really means something,” Thornton said. “So, we’re kind of just adjusting to that mentality.”
Through a challenging season in a new division, Thornton noted that her team’s strength is that they stick together “through thick and thin.” With three area games remaining in a pair of matches with Smiths Station and a rematch on the road at Auburn, Thornton said she knows her team will continue to build on their glimpses of success to this point in the season.
“We want to attack each team that we come across,” Thornton said. “So just getting that mentality down and taking each game head on.”