FARMINGTON -- Paige Devecsery was cheering from the stands in 2011 when Farmington beat Ashdown to win the Class 4A state softball championship.
Today, Devecsery and her teammates begin their own postseason journey when Farmington (23-8) opens Class 5A state tournament play against Paragould (13-14) at 5:30 at Sylvan Hills High School.
Devecsery is the No. 1 pitcher and a top hitter for Farmington, which finished 5A-West Conference play with a 12-0 record. The junior right-hander brings to the circle a 16-2 record and 2.04 earned run average with 112 strikeouts and 38 walks in 99 2/3 innings.
Not bad for a player who was initially hesitant to try pitching at the varsity level.
"I wasn't into pitching. I didn't want it at all," said Devecsery, who was 12-8 with a 2.21 ERA as a sophomore. "Coming into my freshman year, I was thinking shortstop, shortstop, shortstop. That's where I wanted to play."
Devecsery played sparingly as a freshman before Farmington coach Randy Osnes asked her to move into the circle the following spring after losing his No. 1 starter.
"I was more nervous than anything because I hadn't done it in so long," said Devecsery, who averages .324 at the plate and plays shortstop when she's not pitching. "But as practices went on, and with my teammates behind me, I got used to it. It's nothing for me to get out there now and pitch."
Farmington begins state tournament play today after winning two of three games in the 5A-West Conference Tournament. Devecsery struck out 11 and posted a shutout against Maumelle before Vilonia rallied for a 3-1 victory over the Lady Cardinals.
All three runs came in the sixth inning after a two-run triple by Sydney Johnson.
"She hadn't pitched since she was nine or 10 years old before last year, and she turned out to be one of the best pitchers in the conference," Osnes said. "She's continued to work on her pitching, and she hits her spots well. She has some velocity, and she can make the ball move a little bit."
Devecsery wears a brace on her knee after she injured herself while sliding into second base during summer ball. She also hurt her hip earlier this season but is close again to being 100 percent.
That's bad news for opponents of the Lady Cardinals, who've won three state championships in softball.
Devecsery will have a chance next year should Farmington fall short in its goal to to capture the title. But she wants to win badly, especially for the three seniors on the team, Callie Harper, Brandy Wallace and Anna Bennett.
"I've seen how hard these seniors work," Devecsery said. "We've bonded so well, and we pick each other up. It's been fun, and I like our chances of doing good things at state."
Sports on 05/11/2017