Sallisaw senior catcher says Lady Diamonds ready for postseason

Sallisaw Lady Diamonds senior catcher Emma Lessley said that her final fast-pitch softball season hasn’t gone as planned, but it’s still had its bright moments.

“We’ve done pretty well,” Lessley said. “We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’re growing. We started off with barely enough to play at the beginning of the year. We’ve kind of grown as a team every game and every play. Our record is not how we wanted it, but at the same time you have to see the good and the bad.”

As the 2023 fast-pitch season was nearing, Lessley wasn’t certain she was going to be able to have a senior season due to lack of players.

“It was a kind of a hurting feeling,” she said. “I’ve worked three years to get where I am today just to be able to play my senior year, and be able to give out my all. Once people decided they were going to show up and try to play for the team, it really gave me a lot of hope for a senior season.”

Being the only senior on the team means Lessley is the one the rest of the players look to for any kind of help.

“A lot of them are like ‘What are we going to do today in practice?’ or ‘What are we wearing for today?’ — things like that, just little things,” she said. “They usually will ask the coaches (Hillary Gehrke and Josh Bolin), but they’ll come to me like a secondary mini coach on the sideline. It feels pretty good that they can come to me if they need to know something or if they need to talk about anything that I’m always here listening and giving advice — anything like that.”

Lessley’s final fast-pitch postseason will begin today at the Class 4A Regional Tournament in Wagoner. She has mixed feelings about it, since it means her softball career will come to a close.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” Lessley said. “I’ve been playing since I just turned three. This will end my (fast-pitch) softball career. I’m kind of sad to see it end, but at the same time it’s on to bigger and better things.”

Lessley is indeed looking forward to those “bigger and better things.”

“I plan to go to NSU (Northeastern State University) after graduation to get my premedicine, then I’ll go get my radiology technology (degree). I’m looking forward to it. I have big plans ahead of me. It’s going to be good to see what the future holds.”