By Blake Colston
Sports Editor
College softball postseason play is headed to Piedmont for the second consecutive season.
PHS will host the National Junior College Athletics Association Region 2 Tournament May 11-14 at F&M Bank Stadium. Connors State, Rose State, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Seminole State, Eastern Oklahoma State, Western Oklahoma State, Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa and Northern Oklahoma College-Enid make up the eight-team field.
“This is good for our brand,” PHS head softball coach Keith Coleman said. “It gets a lot of softball people into Piedmont and lets them see our facilities.”
Originally, the annual tournament rotated between the school’s venues within the region, but that created extra logistics for the host team. Piedmont’s bid alleviated that concern and provided a central location.
“We handle it like another tournament we would host. We run the gate, the concessions and the press box,” Coleman said.
There is a possibility that Piedmont could become the annual host of the tournament, but that’s not been finalized yet.
“We love hosting it,” Coleman said. “It’s really cool to get to have a big-time softball tournament like this at our park.”
See The Full Bracket and Schedule
There’s some local flair on the rosters, led by former Piedmont star Teagan Honer. A member of the Lady ‘Cats’ 2019 state title team, Honer is a sophomore first baseman for NOC-Tonkawa.
F&M Bank is the title sponsor of the tournament. Tickets are available online via purplepass and at the gate for $10.
Here are five of the region’s top players with local ties that are headed to Piedmont next weekend.
McKenna Johnson, Seminole State
A Yukon native, Johnson has put together a massive freshman season for Seminole. She’s batting .459 with 16 home runs and 59 RBI’s.
Caton Muncy, Rose State
The Amber-Pocasset product has bashed nine home runs and driven home 40 this season as the Raiders’ starting first baseman.
Teagan Honer, NOC-Tonkawa
Honer,a Piedmont native, has collected 11 RBI’s and hit a home run in 21 games this season.
Kendall Hannon, NEO
Hannon plays first base and catcher for the Golden Norse. The former Mustang High star is batting .376 with 14 home runs, 51 RBI’s and 28 runs scored.
Kaylee Bradley, Western Oklahoma State
Bradley is a true two-way player for WOSU. The former Yukon Millerette is hitting .368 with 16 RBI’s and has thrown 149.2 innings while striking out 98 batters.
