Farmington's Sisemore, Lady Cards Motivated For Long Run

 STAFF PHOTO ANDY SHUPE Oakley Sisemore of Farmington checks for a throw from the infield before heading home from third base Feb. 14 during practice at Farmington. Sisemore, who has signed to play at Arkansas next season, will lead the Lady Cardinals this spring as they hope to make a deep playoff run in Class 4A.
STAFF PHOTO ANDY SHUPE Oakley Sisemore of Farmington checks for a throw from the infield before heading home from third base Feb. 14 during practice at Farmington. Sisemore, who has signed to play at Arkansas next season, will lead the Lady Cardinals this spring as they hope to make a deep playoff run in Class 4A.

FARMINGTON -- Oakley Sisemore has literally grown up on a softball field.

The daughter of a softball coach, Sisemore said she started playing in T-Ball, but started getting serious about the game "in about the seventh or eighth grade."

Prime 9: Top 9 Players in Class 5A and below

Player^School^Class^Statistics

Oakley Sisemore^Farmington^Sr.^.426 BA, 41 singles; 4A-All-State; signed with Arkansas

Brooke Larkin^Farmington^Sr.^.329 BA, 27 RBIs; 10-1, 3.32 ERA, 37Ks.

Jerika Schooley^Pea Ridge^Sr.^.345 BA, 14 RBIs; 2.90 ERA, 53Ks.

Lindsee LaBrecque^Gravette^Jr.^1.19 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 76Ks.

Megan Ward^Gravette^Sr.^.414 BA, .643 slugging percentage, 22 runs.

Lauren Blackburn^Farmington^Sr.^.459 BA, 28 hits, 18 RBIs, 17 runs.

Jordin Smith^Farmington^Sr.^9-4, 3.68 ERA, 48Ks; .311 BA, 4 HRs, 29 RBIs.

Tiffany Cartwight^West Fork^Sr.^.306 BA, 14 RBIs, 3 triples; 8-4

Kaden Selph^West Fork^Sr.^.467 BA, 17 RBIs, 6 doubles

"My dad (John Sisemore) got a coaching job at the University of Arkansas, and that's when I started really getting serious about it and wanting to learn as much as I could," Oakley said.

The Farmington senior center fielder has already cemented her future career when she signed a national letter of intent to attend Arkansas next season. But until then, she and her Lady Cardinal teammates have their sights set on putting together another solid season that Sisemore hopes ends at the place her collegiate career will begin -- at Bogle Park -- and winning the Class 4A state championship.

Last season Farmington bowed out of the state tournament much sooner than it hoped. Sisemore said the team has used that as motivation coming into this season.

"We are ready to get things done," she said.

Sisemore said she patterns her game after former Alabama standout Jennifer Fenton, who was one of the top base stealers in NCAA history. Like Fenton, Sisemore is a slap hitter from the left side, where last season she smacked 41 singles as the Lady Cardinals' lead-off hitter.

"That is amazing for the amount of games that we played," Farmington coach Randy Osnes said. "She just brings a lot to the table for us. She has tremendous speed and quickness."

She batted .426 for the season and was named to the Class 4A All-State team as a junior.

As a senior, Sisemore is also a veteran when it comes to the more than two dozen chants her teammates use during games. She estimated that the team has about 30 different ones.

"I think it gets the team fired up," she said of the myriad of cheers and chants. "When you're sitting there and not talking, nobody gets motivated. I just feel like it's kind of a motivator."

Does she ever forget the words?

"Not usually," she said. "They are really simple."

Sisemore said growing up with a father as a softball coach provided her with instant feedback on her performance.

"At times it was kind of hard, but for the most part I liked it, because I could always practice and always know what I was doing wrong," she said. "I felt like it made me a better player. I got to experience the game a little bit more. I tried to use it to get better, I tried to take it and improve my game. I didn't really take it in a bad way."

John Sisemore is now the head softball coach at Crowder College after also starting the softball program at Springdale-based Ecclesia College.

Osnes said the key to Sisemore's game is her speed out of the box and in the outfield.

"She's incredibly quick and has great instincts on the ball in center field," Osnes said. "And she has a great knowledge of the game."

Sisemore said slap hitting, where the batter literally launches herself at the ball, is easier than it looks once she got the hang of it.

"It looks kind of hard at the beginning, but once you work your way into it, actually it's a lot easier because you have so many more options," she said. "It also messes with the defense because you can slap it down or slap it over their head if they come in."

Sisemore said going to an SEC school was a priority, calling it the best conference in the country. The close proximity of the UA was also a factor, along with her knowledge of the program.

"Just growing up with that softball program because my dad was coaching there, I felt like it was the best fit for me," she said. "I just knew it was a great program."

Sports on 03/02/2014

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