Springdale Native Stars For NEO Softball

Kaitlin Davis knew she had picked the right school to continue her college softball career at when she saw the text message.

The former Springdale High standout, Springdale Har-Ber graduate and current Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College pitcher got a text from Central Oklahoma pitching coach Keely Bobeck shortly after NEO's season opener in February.

At A Glance

Kaitlin Davis

College: Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College

High School: Springdale Har-Ber

Position: Pitcher

Bats: R^Throws: R

Notable: Played three years at Springdale High, then transferred and graduated from Springdale Har-Ber. … Signed with Central Oklahoma in November. … Earned All-American honors as a freshman at NEO after finishing with a 23-4 record, a 1.48 ERA and 173 strikeouts. … Has a 9-9 record and a 1.79 ERA this year.

Davis had signed with UCO in November and Bobeck wanted to stop in and check up on her future player. She watched the game from the stands, then sent Davis a photo of her notepad, filled with observations and pointers.

"She was telling me what I needed to do to, for instance, fix my curveball," Davis said. "Just giving me helpful hints already. And I'm not even over there at UCO yet. Just knowing that that's what I'm getting into is exciting."

Davis hopes to make an immediate impact next year as a go-to starter for UCO, which won the 2013 Division II national championship. She's been a dominant presence for NEO the last two years.

Davis earned All-American honors as a freshman last season, finishing with a 23-4 record and an impressive 1.48 ERA to go along with 173 strikeouts. NEO has struggled to support her offensively at times this year, but she is 9-9 and still sports a 1.79 ERA.

She chose NEO after a standout three years at Springdale before transferring to Har-Ber for her senior year. UCO seems like another good fit.

"We feel like she meshed well with our girls," Bobeck said. "But talent-wise, she's got a great build. Fundamdentally, she throws the way I teach. Between her build, her attitude and her work ethic, I just see a lot of potential. She obviously did well enough to impress me. I just saw a lot of room for growth. I'm not going to change her. Just improve where she's at right now. And I see a lot of potential for that."

Davis has a former NEO teammate who went to UCO and raved about the program. She liked the campus, the surrounding Edmond area and UCO coach Cody White when she visited the school.

And she hit it off with Bobeck immediately.

"She played at Navarro and Texas Tech and actually coached at Navarro," Davis said. "Here (at NEO) we don't have a whole lot of pitching help. We have a pitching coach more or less, but not exactly what I needed, I guess you could say. She's never pitched before. She's really good at pitch calling, but as far as helping me with my pitches, it's been kind of a struggle.

"So after I met coach Bobeck, it didn't take long at all for me to know that she was exactly what I needed to get the most out of my softball career. We have a lot of the same views on pitching and softball. She seems a lot like me. So that's the main thing I'm excited about is having her to help me. Because I know she's going to be the absolute best for me."

Davis led NEO to a seventh-place finish in the NJCAA Tournament last year, a mark she hopes to improve on in the coming weeks. And she hopes to be on the mound during a deep UCO tournament run next year.

"They're losing their No. 1 (pitcher)," Davis said. "She's a senior. They told me they need a No. 1 to come in and eat up a lot of innings and be a dominant pitcher. They said that's what they were looking for in me."

Sports on 04/23/2014

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