In The Spotlight

Profile of athletes in state championship games this week

Chelsi Possage is a senior infielder for Greenwood's softball team
Chelsi Possage is a senior infielder for Greenwood's softball team

CHLOE CREEKMORE

SCHOOL Mansfield

SPORT Softball

CLASS Senior

POSITION Catcher

HYPE SONG It's whatever comes on my Christian play list. It gets me into that mindset and honestly, it's any one of those songs that really motivates me to do my best and give all the glory to God.

PREGAME MEAL Bananas. I love bananas!

MY HERO IS My mother, Crystal Strozier. She's always been my No. 1 supporter. She's always tried her best to come to every single one of my games. She has really pushed me and motivated me to become the best that I can be and to go as far as I can, to go to college and get it paid for and that's exactly what I did.

DID YOU KNOW? Creekmore started to school in Mansfield but later moved to Lavaca for a time, then to Greenwood. She was the starting catcher on Greenwood's 2018 team that played in the state championship game. Creekmore moved to Mansfield before her junior season. She will attend National Parks College in Hot Springs and plans to become an elementary school teacher.

THE NUMBERS Creekmore batted .456 for the season with 4 home runs and 27 RBIs. She scored 24 runs and had a .772 slugging percentage and a 1.341 OPS.

SHE SAID IT "I knew I either wanted to be a nurse or a teacher because I really love to help people. When I was little I really looked up to my teachers and I knew that's what I wanted to do."

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CHELSI POSSAGE

SCHOOL Greenwood

SPORT Softball

CLASS Senior

POSITION Second base

HYPE SONG Rap Star by Polo G.

PREGAME MEAL My favorite is Subway protein bowl with chicken.

MY HERO IS My dad Michael Possage. He never gave up on me or anyone else. He taught me everything I know.

DID YOU KNOW? Possage, who started playing softball at the age of 4, signed with the University of Arkansas last November to play softball. She had attended several camps at the UA. Prior to the start of the school year, she moved to Greenwood from Muldrow, Okla. She and fellow Arkansas signee Ally Sockey have played on the same travel summer team since they were six years old.

THE NUMBERS Possage is batting .408 with 40 hits, 11 doubles, 3 triples, and 18 RBIs from the lead-off spot. She has scored 34 runs and has a .612 slugging percentage and a 1.064 OPS. She is a perfect 22-of-22 on stolen base attempts.

SHE SAID IT "I try to play every game like it's my last. And this one actually is my last game. We have nothing to lose, so we're going to go out there and give it everything we have."

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ELI MARCOTTE

SCHOOL Rogers High

SPORT Baseball

CLASS Junior

POSITION Catcher

HYPE SONG Jungle by X Ambassadors

PREGAME MEAL 3 eggs and 2 slices of toast:

MY HERO IS My former teammate Hayden Seldomridge

DID YOU KNOW? Marcotte is a rising entrepreneur who customizes shoes in his spare time.

THE NUMBERS Marcotte is batting .263 with a .387 on-base percentage. He has 26 hits, 20 RBIs, and has scored 16 runs. His numbers also include 7 doubles and 2 triples.

HE SAID IT "Playing in the title game means the world to me, especially since our season last year got taken away. To me, we're doing it for the seniors from last year to live out their legacy that they left."

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DEVIN GATTIS

SCHOOL Van Buren

SPORT Baseball

CLASS Junior

POSITION Pitcher/second base

HYPE SONG 100 Shots by Young Dolph

PREGAME MEAL Chick-fil-A sandwich or Raising Cane's tenders

MY HERO IS My dad, Darrell

DID YOU KNOW? Gattis loves to make his own music. He enjoys the process of making beats and rap songs. The artist name people call him by is Dazer.

THE NUMBERS Considered the MVP of the team this year by Van Buren coach Luke Weatherford, Gattis stepped up to be the team's No. 2 starter this season after an injury to Luke Hughes. Gattis has picked up 7 wins and a save on the mound while pitching 66 ⅔ innings. He has allowed 61 hits, 14 earned runs and 14 walks with his 72 strikeouts. He has a 1.89 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He started and picked up the win for Van Buren in the quarterfinals of the state tournament against Marion. He has played second base this season as a defensive player only often but does also have 5 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, 2 RBIs and a stolen base.

HE SAID IT "This entire state championship run has been exciting. The whole community has come together and we have the best student section in the state. They are amazing. We had a fundraiser to get a bus for the students to go to the game and it was done within four hours. The support has been wild. We have been saying since summer we are going to win Van Buren's first title in baseball. It has been our mindset all year. We just now gotta go win this last game."

Chloe Creekmore is a senior catcher for the Mansfield softball team
Chloe Creekmore is a senior catcher for the Mansfield softball team
Eli Marcotte is a junior catcher for the Rogers Mounties baseball team
Eli Marcotte is a junior catcher for the Rogers Mounties baseball team
Devin Gattis is a junior pitcher/infielder for the Van Buren baseball team
Devin Gattis is a junior pitcher/infielder for the Van Buren baseball team

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