The end of one chapter leads to the beginning of another

Hey Hillcat Fans!

   I have had the opportunity to blog for the softball team for the last two years. It was hard to keep everyone updated at times, but it has been an amazing experience getting to relay all the softball news to the great fans that we have.
   This year has been a huge roller coaster. Starting at such a high point when we went 30-0, to have a low point where we were really struggling to find that team we were at the start of the season. But, we managed to pull it all together in the end and make it to the national tournament. We got even more blessed as to have it at our home filed here in Claremore. It was an amazing experience to have all the support from our family, friends, and the community there. Although we couldn't quite pull out the wins in the end to make it to Georgia, I could not be more proud of my team. We came along ways this season and we finished with everything we had. I'm so thankful to have gotten to finish my career here at RSU with this great group of girls.
   My seasons of playing the game I love are over, but there is a whole new chapter in my life ready to begin. I will be finishing my student teaching this fall and will hopefully be in my own classroom teaching by this time next year. I do not know where to begin on the thank yous. Thank you to my family, friends, all my coaches, and all those who have supported me through my career. Without you guys I would not have even been close to making it this far. Thank you to all my readers that have made this experience so fun.  Thank you to the great group in the athletic department here at RSU, you guys are amazing! And thank you to all of our fans, without you guys there would be no Hillcat softball. You guys are the ones that kept us pushing when times got rough.
  
Sincerely,
Ashlie Fauchier #3 :)

 2013 Hillcat softball

 

Athletic Banquet





 Games against Bryon College in TN

 Lunch in TN by the river

 Beach day! Orange Beach, AL

 Thank you for all your support!

Can't believe it's almost over

Hey Hillcat Fans!

   I apologize for not blogging that much this season. It's so crazy how fast season has come and now it's almost over. With it being my senior year, I have been trying to just soak it all in. This year couldn't have started any better. We went on a 31-0 start and peeked our ranking at 3rd in the nation. But, we eventually got our first loss in Alabama against the University of Mobile. It was a tough loss, but it definitely made us stronger and pushed us to keep moving forward. We finally got into conference play and got the sweeps against USAO and Mid-America University. Lubbock was next, and we knew we had to show up with our best games. We couldn't pull the wins out but it wasn't stopping us. We have had a couple of down falls since then but I know my team and were not done. We have come along ways from being on top to having to work our way back from the bottom. Every team has their trials and were trying to work through ours now. We are currently ranked 19th in the nation and have a record of 38-11.
   I couldn't have asked for a better team to finish out my senior year with. This group of girls have made my senior year the best. I"m sad to see it go so fast. But, there are a lot of games left and that means more wins to pick up. With a little over 3 weeks left of season I would like to thank my team for making my senior year an amazing year to go out on. From the start my motto was "going out with a bang!" and that's exactly what were doing. We have accomplished so much this year, and were not done. These next couple of weeks have a lot in store for us. Senior night against Oklahoma City, then to their place for two more games, and then conference tournament. After that we are hoping to get a bid to go to regionals, which is the next step closer to nationals.
   Thank you for all the cheers and support. Without our friends, family, and our biggest fans we wouldn't be where we are today.

Ashlie #3 :)

                                             Here is a few pictures of the Hillcats in action.

Week 1 in the Books

Hey Hillcat Fans!

This past week could not have been any better for your Hillcat softball team. Last Wednesday we started our season at Bacone College for a double headed at 1 & 3. We were so excited to finally see what all of our hard work was going to look like. We got there early enough to eat us a good breakfast at Denny's and then it was game time. It seemed as if this day was never going to come. But I knew we were ready. We got out there and had a great warm up and came out on fire! Yolanda Rios came out throwing the heat and our bats were right behind her. We won the first game 14-0, with Shona Guerrero's two run home run and a combined 12 hits from your Hillcats. Laura Fleck finished the game as Rios took the win.
As the second game started there was nothing stopping us. We shut the Lady Warriors out for a second time with a final of 9-0. Rios started on the mound again and her offense was right there with her, this time with 13 hits and two home runs by Cailin Simpson and Katie Ellington. Starting the season off with two big shutout wins was great!
The week was not over though. We faced William Woods University Sunday afternoon for a double headed. The first game was a nail biter and a bit of a pitching dual until the bottom of the 5th when Desiree Ayarzagoitia busted out a solo shot home run. It was just what we needed! Rios went out and shut Williams Woods down, but we weren't done. Candace Monigold wanted in on the action and hit a two run homer to seal the deal for your Hillcats. Rios took the 3-0 win!
Rios started on the mound for the second game as well. William Woods came out with a little fight and scored 3 in the 2nd inning and tacked on another in the 3rd. It was a bit of a wake up for us that they weren't just going to lay down for us. We had to step it up, and that's exactly what we did in the bottom of the 4th as we came back with a 6 spot on the board. A couple of base hits and a home run by Monigold and Taran Threet later and we got back on top with a score of 6-4. We scored again in the bottom of the 5th and 6th to make a final winning score of 11-4. Fleck came out with the relief win.
The week could not have ended any better. 4-0 is a great way to start the season. I can not wait to see how far we go this year. We have more talent than I have ever had the opportunity to play with and if we do our job it will take us exactly where we want to be, nationals!

A BIG shout out to Candace Monigold a receiving SAC player of the week. Hitting .643 for the week with 2 home runs and a slugging % of 1.429 and drove in 11 runs. Thata girl!!

Mark Your Calendars!
Saturday Feb. 23 against Grand View @ 2 & 4, Hillcat Complex
Sunday Feb. 24 against Grand View @ noon & 2, Hillcat Complex

Ashlie #3 :)

T-minus 30 days!

Hey Hillcat Fans!

I hope everyone had a blessed and safe New Years! I could not be any happier to see this new year come. 2012 was pretty good to your Hillcat softball team but, 2013 has so much more to offer. I hope you all are just as excited about this coming season as we are. No worries though, the wait is almost over!

Ashlie #3

Blessed!

Hey Hillcat Fans!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Being home for the holidays really gets me thinking of how blessed I truly am. Not only to have such an amazing and supportive family at home, but to also have an amazing ball family as well. The past couple of months my team has become so strong. Not just physically from all of Coach Amy's workouts, but mentally and emotionally. We have been working out 4 days a week which includes hitting, throwing, swimming, lifting and, of course some conditioning. As much as all that sucks sometimes we know it's what we have to do to make it to that national tournament. That is where the emotional and mental strength comes to play. Fighting yourself to keep pushing till the finish. Hard and strong! Not only for yourself but for the other 20 girls right beside you working to be there for you. That's the hard part! This team has everything it takes to become the team. The team that is going to put Rogers State softball on the map. Everyday we get stronger in every aspect, and that is what it is going to take to get where we want to be.

I hope all our Hillcat fans have a safe and wonderful holiday season!
Happy Holidays from your Hillcat softball team!


Ashlie #3

Back In Action!

Hey Hillcat Fans!

Summer is over and your Hillcats are back in action! Although it was nice to have a couple months off, I could not wait to get back. Could not wait to get back to the field and start working on that road towards that national championship.

I can not believe I am already in my senior year. But, I could not be more excited! We have 12 returners from last year and 11 new girls, and these 11 new girls have some talent! This fall season we came out very strong with 10 wins against some strong Junior College schools and a loss to Oklahoma State. Those 11 games only made my prediction for season even more accurate. With these group of girls there is no doubt in my mind we can't win that national championship we have been due for.

There are some BIG additions to your Hillcat softball team. We have some Junior College transfers that are ready to make their mark here at RSU. Yolanda Rios is one of our new pitchers from Fullerton, CA, who has already showed this fall that she has exactly what it takes to help us make it to national championship. Some other names to be looking out for this up coming season would be Candace Monigold (CF) from Broken Arrow, OK,  Desiree Ayarzagoitia (C) from Kingsville, TX, and Cailin Simpson (2B) from Riverside, CA. These three girls are going to add great value to our Hillcat family.

 Needless to say, I can't wait for season to get here! Witnessing the fall games and how strong we already are, and we still have 4 months till our first game, it can not get any better than that.


Ashlie #3

Staying Strong!

Hey Hillcat Fans!

Conference keeps getting tougher, but were hanging in there! This week we had St. Gregs at home. The first game we came out slow but Kaitlin McCool opened it up with a bomb over left field fence. St. Gregs came back and got 2, which put them on top. As a team we haven't been hitting like we usually do. Which makes it hard to come back. We took the first loss 2-1. Both these games are huge for us, so we knew we had to come back with a win in the second game. But, with no hits and mental errors we fail to get that much needed win.

Yesterday was a huge day for the team and our standings. With so much rain lately we were a little nervous we wouldn't get to play, but somehow coach always gets the field ready. We hosted Lubbock Christian, ranked 6th in the nation, at 4 & 6. The first game we couldn't get the hits when they were needed and lost 5-0. Fleck took the loss but pitched rather well. Our offence really needs to step up for her. Which is exactly what we did the second game. With Fleck throwing another great game we came out with some great defencive plays early. LCU hit a 2 run bomb in third. But, with a little grit in our britches we came back and scored 3. McCool started the inning off with a base hit up the middle, I hit and got on by and Error. Shona Guerrero kept it going with a base hit. Taran Threet came up with a huge 2 strike bunt which put me and Shona in scoring position, and let Linsey Curtis hit a 2 run double into right center. All we had to do now was hold them. Fleck really kept it up in the circle throwing lights out. She finished the game Holding LCU to only 7 hits. Hillcats with the win...3-2! This was a HUGE win for the team and showing people were here and not going anywhere.

Mark Your Calendars!

Monday April 16 - @USAO 2 & 4 (make-up game)
Tuesday April 17 - Southern Naz. 4-6 HOME
Thursday April 19 - Oklahoma Baptist 5-7 HOME

Ashlie #3 :)

Rough Start

Hey Hillcat Fans!

This past week was a little tougher than we had expected. We started conference Tuesday at Oklahoma Baptist and didn't come out with the right mind set and lost both. This wasn't how we wanted to start off in conference, but we are a really strong team and knew we could come back from it. Thursday came and we hosted Oklahoma Christian. It was good to be back on our home filed. We lost the first game but played well. Second game was all ours! We came out ready to finally get a win in conference, and that's exactly what we did. The week was almost over but we had one more set of games at Southern Nazarene on Saturday. They were hosting a Cancer awareness game so both teams wore pink ribbons and wrist bands to show our support. We came out strong in the first game and scored 3 on a bomb from Linsey Curtis, and held them to one run. The second game we came out a little slow and weren't getting the hits that were needed. We ended the day with a split. The week was finally over and we got our taste of the SAC, and it was a hard one to chew. 2-4 wasn't how we wanted to start but were strong and a hard working group and I have no doubt we will work our way out of it.

Week 2 is just as full. We were suppose to play USAO yesterday but do to the rain it was cancelled. It was kind of good to get some days to relax and get back to regular practice though. But, we couldn't be anymore ready for Thursday. We host Mid-America at 4 and 6, and really need these wins. So, come out Tomorrow and support your Hillcat softball team!

Mark Your Calendars!

Tuesday April 10 - St. Greg's 2-4 HOME
Thursday April 12 - Lubbock Christian 4-6 HOME

Tuesday April 17 - Southern Naz. 4-6 HOME
Thursday April 19 - Oklahoma Baptist 5-7 HOME

Ashlie #3 :)

Conference here we come!

Hey Hillcat Fans!

Good Bye Spring Break, Hello conference!
This past week was a little crazy! We left for MO last Thursday and played 3 games Friday and 2 on Saturday. Leaving MO 4-1 was not bad at all, but we definitely knew we could have gone 5-0. Not letting anything stop us, we headed straight for TN. Traveling all day Sunday and then played TN Wesleyan on Monday, we tacked on 2 more W's for the books. We traveled to Bryan College the next day and gained another 2 wins. Wednesday was a great day off traveling and playing had definitely wore us down a bit. Coach gave us the day to shop and go to downtown Nashville. It was a lot of fun! Thursday came quick and we were suppose to play our last 2 games in TN but due to all the rain in Memphis we were not able to play on Thursday, and headed for good ole' Oklahoma. Spring Break was a success going 4-0!
Your Hillcat softball team is 27-4! And we could not ask for a better record going into conference play. Although, tomorrow is where it all begins. This week is a big week of big games, with Oklahoma Baptist on Tuesday, Oklahoma Christian on Thursday, and Southern Nazarene on Saturday. Coming out of this week with 6 more wins would be great, and I know we can do it. We have came this far playing some great softball and I cannot wait to see how far we take ourselves.

Mark you calendars!!
Tuesday- March 27th 5 & 7 @ OBU
Thursday- March 29th 4 & 6  HOME!
Saturday- Marcy 31st 12 & 2 @ SNU

Ashlie #3

HILLCAT domiNATION

Hey Hillcat Fans!

Season is in full gear, and blogging has been hard to get around to. Since my last post, your Hillcats have been on the grind! This past week has been crazy. We went to Wichita, KS last Friday and played 2 games Saturday, against Midland College and Ottawa University. We lost to Ottawa by 2 which gave us our second loss on the season. Sunday we played  3 games against Graceland College, from Iowa, Mount Marty, from Nebraska, and then Bethel College, from Kansas, and came out with 3 more wins.

Coming home was bitter sweet. We were ready to be back in our own beds, but Monday was another full day of games. We played at home, which was our first games on the field with the stadium almost finished, it was so exciting! We hosted OK Wesleyan and added 2 more wins on the season. There was no time to rest just yet. We played Tuesday at home against Bacone College and had great weather for 2 more wins.

If you have been keeping track your Hillcat softball team is 15-2 on the season. This is the best starting record we have had since the softball program has started, and we plan to keep it going this weekend in McPhearson, KS.

Mark Your Calendars!

McPhearson, KS Tournament March 9th - 10th
Friday - 10:30, 2:30, 4:30
Saturday - 8:30, 10:30

Evangel, MO Tournament March 16th - 17th

Ashlie #3

Starting Out Right

Hey Hillcat fans!

Yesterday was our first two games of the season, and it felt so good to be back on the field.  We played at Bacone College at 1 and 3.  The first game started a little rough, but I think most of us were a little nervous, but yet anxious to play.  Our Sr. Ashley Wailand started on the mound for us, but due to some struggling was replaced by our freshman lefty, Laura Fleck, who came in and did a great job.  Fleck got the win!  The second game started a lot better.  Throughout the game Katrina Loy, Linsey Curtis and Shona Guerrero all hit a homerun to really get us pumped up.  There was no stopping us there, we ended the game by a run rule in the bottom of the 5th by a score of 13-5.  Linsey Curtis got the win!  These two games were a great start to the season!

Mark your Calenders!
February
21st - @ Oklahoma Wesleyan 3 & 5
25th - (home opener) Grandview 1 & 3
26th - 12 & 2

Seasons Here!

Hi Hillcat fans!
The wait is over, season is here!  All the hard work we have been putting in over the fall and the past 6 weeks of this semester is finally going to seem worth it.
Our season opener is tomorrow at Bacon College @ 1 & 3.  And we can not wait to be out on the field.  Hopefully we get to play though, this weather has been a real headache.  We been outside since we got back in January and the week of our first game it wants to snow and rain, but that's Oklahoma for you.  Once we start tomorrow it doesn't stop.  We dive head first into no weekends off and traveling like crazy, but I wouldn't change it for anything.  Our home opener is February 25th against Grandview @ 1 & 3.  But since our field isn't quite ready, due to the construction on our press box, we will play at Claremore High School's field. 

Mark your calenders!
February
21st @ OK Wesleyan 3 & 5
25th Grandview 1 & 3
26th Grandview 12 & 2

Ashlie #3

Homecoming!

Hey Hillcats fans!

This past weekend was Homecoming. Throughout the week before there was a ton of activities to do around campus. We had the Fauxsino, which is a night we get to act like real big spenders and gamble the night away. We also had the Hillcat Hacker, one of my favorite homecoming activities, which is a fundraiser golf tournament where we turn the whole campus ground into a golf course. Friday night we had a bonfire on campus and they introduced all the basketball players. We got to eat lots of food and had a great night of socializing. Saturday was game day. Girls played first and played a great game, but didn't quite have enough to get the win. As for the boys, that's a different story. They pretty much stomped their opponent with a 65 point win.

On a sad note, this past weekend the Hillcat family lost a member of their family. Tyler Brown, a sophomore on the baseball team, had a car accident late Friday night. Tyler went 6-0 last year as a freshman and closed the game for the Hillcats in the SAC Tournament last year to get the win. Tyler was a great person inside and out with a great attitude about life. I am so grateful to have know him and be a little part of his life. Tyler will be a great loss to this Hillcat family. He will be truly missed! RIP TB23

 Ashlie Fauchier #3 :)

No Days Off!

Hey Hillcat fans!

I know everyone has been a little shaken up by the earthquakes around the Oklahoma area, but those really are not even earthquakes. Your Hillcat softball team has been working so hard through the five weeks of 6am workouts and swimming that when we hit in the cage it sends a HUGE vibration through the state. But, all we're doing is sending a message to the rest of the SAC that the RSU Hillcats are getting ready for that National Championship! Let's just say those were our warning shots.
Honestly, the girls and I have been working so hard, getting stronger and faster. I can not wait 'til season. The rough part is going to be the breaks that are approaching very soon. Christmas break is about a month long, and that is a long time away from the girls and the daily routines we do everyday. But, I know my team and, as dedicated as they are to the team and the game, they will not let a break stop them from working hard and getting better. No Days Off!
So the next time you feel an "earthquake," just know that it is your Hillcats Softball team hitting the cages.

Ashlie Fauchier #3 :)

Introduction :)

Hi Hillcat fans!

My name is Ashlie Fauchier and I'm this year’s blogger for the Hillcats Softball team. I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know a little about me and the softball program.

I am from Choctaw, OK. I have been here at RSU since my freshman year as the starting shortstop. I am a junior on and off the field and majoring in Elementary Education through the Cameron program here on campus. I am one of eight returners from last year and I couldn't imagine playing anywhere else. I chose Rogers State for multiple reasons. For one, the beautiful campus. When my mom and I came on my visit we were coming up the hill towards campus and my mom turned to me and said," uh oh!" I asked why she said that and she replied, "This is it!" I guess she was right. But, the campus was not the only reason. I highly admire Coach Dicus and the program he has built at RSU. After meeting with him and touring the campus RSU was most definitely the place for me. Going on my third year, I still love it here!

But enough about me. Let’s get to the good stuff, my team! This year we have a lot of new faces. We have five freshman, one new sophomore, and eight new juniors. But, I couldn't be more excited. Between the 22 of us we have a great amount of talent. I can't wait for season to start in February! Until then it's grind time all the time. We started 6ams yesterday with Coach Renault. They can be killer, but we know all the pain and soreness will all be worth it when we get that National Championship! After Fall Break we will start workouts in the afternoons as well. Which includes hitting, throwing, running, and of course the pool. Yes, I said the pool. While in the pool we tread water, swim, run, and swing under water. It seems a little weird I know, but it helps a lot with soreness from 6 ams and builds strength.

Well, that's a little look inside a Hillcat softball player’s life and me and who I am. I'm excited to start blogging and updating everyone on what’s going on with the team. If you ever have any questions don't be afraid to ask. :)

Ashlie Fauchier #3

2011 Blizzard

Well, as most of you know, we here in Claremore got quite a bit of snow. I think the final tally was 25+ but I could be wrong. Not entirely sure to be honest. With all the snow we recieved, the campus was closed for 6 days total. 4 one week and 2 the next. And of course with the time off, some of us softball players took full advantage of the snow :) Our first game is scheduled for tomorrow at Bacone but I believe we are trying to get a new location to play Wednesday but again I am not entirely sure. Anyhow, thought some of you followers would enjoy some snow pictures of us softballers :) Two pictures are of our field after the snow and the other 3 are of us having fun.

Long time no see

Hello everyone. I know it has be SO long since my last blog and I apologize for that. Guess seniorits kicked in early this year :) This season might be the most exciting yet. Besides the fact that it is my senior season, the team has returned twelve girls from last season and has brought in five new faces rounding out one heck of a team. Our five new faces include two new pitchers, Ashley Wailand from Iowa and Amanda Edwards from Canada and both have good arms. Alongside them are our three new freshman, Taran Threet, Kristen Blasingame, and Kirsten Leppla whom all bring new and exciting talent to the team. Our small fall season went well. Out of maybe twelve games we only dropped two of them. And in less than twenty days, our spring season starts off at Bacone College on Feb 15th. Our full schedule is online and we have posters and wallet sized schedules available at the college. Featured on the poster are fellow seniors Sarah Harvey and Brittany White and on the wallet schedule is fellow senior Dina Ortiz. Remaining seniors include Angelina Vines, Logan Zamora, and Tanya Koch. Seven familiar faces that want to go out with a bang. Softball aside, school has been pretty much the same as it was in previous years; fun at times and then stressful at other times but we all know that overall education is the most important thing. We seven seniors are so close to being finished, we can taste it. Especially with almost all of us finishing either this spring or next fall and that in itself is very exciting. We are all very excited for this upcoming season to start and we hope to see all of our fans, past and present, out on game days showing their support. I will try my best to keep everyone informed and up to date on this blog. Till next time! :)

Katie Bointy #13

End of the Year

Well, the 2009-2010 year is over. For both softball and school. Has been for over a week now. Finals were the first week of May and I had one every day. It was alright though. Wasn't till the last test did I start feeling tired. On top of finals, we had to play 3 games on that Tuesday. Final in the morning, travel and play in the afternoon, then get back late. It was an adventure. Then after our last finals on Thursday we left for the conference tournament in OKC. Then it was game time Friday. We played SNU first and although we hit, we hit the ball right to people. Whereas they would get gap shots or little bloops. We lost to SNU making us play against the fence in our evening game against NWOSU. Unfortanently we had the same thing happen to us in that game as well. We keep hitting the ball right to people. In one inning we had 3 well hit balls caught right at the fence by the NWOSU's left fielder. Losing to NWOSU ended our season. Our final record was 35-26 which is a winning season. And the best part I think is that we have no seniors graduating :) On top of a winning season, we had four Hillcats earn honors. Brittany "B" White earned first-team all conference. Freshman Linsey Curtis and Ashlie Fauchier earned second-team all conference. Fauchier also represents RSU on the SAC Golden Glove team. And Taryn Herndandez earned honorable mention all conference. Im proud of my teammates and look forward to my senior year. And it was requested that I post some pictures of us in action so here are some...

Thanks for the support and hope to give some summer updates. Right now Im doing intersession classes which are full classes in just two weeks. Its brutal but very much worth it I believe. Oh and for the spring semester I got A's and B's :) yay me!! Hope the summer will be just as productive. Talk to everyone soon.

kb#13

Crazy Crazy April

Hey everyone. I know its been SOOOO long since I last wrote. It was one crazy April. Softball games every other day, school winding down mean lots of last minute late nights :), and the weather not knowing what it wanted to do, be sunny or rain. Softball wise we've been struggling alil but still hanging in there. The big SAC conference tournament is this weekend and if we play like we can we're in. Things have be challenging. We've had some significant injuries that have pushed people and had some people play out of position but we kept fighting. On April 21st we had our 2nd annual athletic banquet which was so much fun. All the girls got all dressed up and looked so pretty. I promise you, without numbers on our backs, its hard to know who we are lol Everyone looked amazing that night and alot of well deserving people were honored. Of the softball team, Miss Linsey Curtis received the Offensive Player of the Year, Miss Ashlie Fauchier received the Defensive Player of the Year, while I received the Hillcat Award. All of us were greatly honored and happy.

Here are the girls :)

School has been challenging for me this past month. Deadlines for papers, continued online work, quizzes, tests, some lack of sleep...it was all there in April. It was times like that I greatly appreciate professors working with athletes. Them understanding that we sometimes need an extra day or so to understand something a little better before we take a test or that we need extra time with them understanding something. For professors like that, I greatly appreciate the time and effort you put in to work with us athletes. And this week is finals week. The semester boils down to this week. I've got a final everyday but due to softball that might change but it won't be a giant hurt to me. Still gotta take the tests. I'll let everyone know how the remainder of softball turns out.

kb#13

Give My Girl Props!!!

Ok!! So don't know if ya'll know but my teammate, Lindsey Curtis, (who's one of the sweetest people on this earth) was chosen as the Conference Player of the Week for March 8th-14th. I know I'm a little late but I didn't find out till yesterday. Lindsey is a freshman but she has already made her mark on Hillcat history and the amazing part is that there's still season left :) (not to mention 3 more years) There is an entire article about Lindsey's softball accomplishments on the RSU athletic website. On top of being a great softball player, she's also a tremendous and beautiful person and I just wanted to wish her the biggest congratulations and wanted everyone to know. Great job girl!! Much love!!

kb#13

p.s. It's spring break this week so I'll have a post about all the fun the team had on "vaca" :) ttyl!