Lady Rattlers prepare for softball season

With a half-dozen girls still playing basketball this week, Tucumcari High School softball coach CJ Oglesby will have precious little time to prepare his team for its season-opener Saturday at Raton.

Oglesby, in his sixth season, said he's been training about eight non-basketball players in the meantime, and he hasn't been taking it easy on them.

"We're just trying to condition them a little bit more," he said. "In previous years, we haven't been too conditioned should we get to the state playoffs. I think this is going to help us quite a bit."

Oglesby said basketball players Caylee Benavides, Kirksey Smith, Haisley Huffman, Alexis Ramirez, July Lafferty and Kyla Lopez have committed to joining the softball team once the season is over, though many haven't played softball in a long time, or ever.

"I think they're really going to help," he said. "With their natural talent, I think they'll catch on."

Huffman, a senior, is the team's returning center fielder. She hit .338 last year and was second on the team in RBI and runs scored.

Tucumcari's first home game won't be until March 26 against Santa Rosa. The Lady Rattlers' district schedule against Ruidoso, East Mountain and Dexter begins about two weeks after that.

Oglesby said Mia Estrada, along with returning starters Harley McKinney or Ramirez, both seniors, would be his pitchers.

Oglesby said he's hopeful he'll have more hitting this season compared to last year's 10-14 squad, which periodically struggled at the plate.

"I think we're going to hit a lot better this year than we did over the previous years," he said. "We've been really focusing on technique and different things. I think that's going to be a big, big jump."

He said several players committed themselves to off-season improvement, especially junior second baseman Tayden Hyslop.

"She's just focused," he said. "The girl's just going to hit the crap out of the ball this year. Amazing power."

A mainstay is senior Amaya Roybal, who has been the Lady Rattlers' starting catcher since she was a freshman. She hit .333 last year.

"We have a lot of potential," Roybal said. "A lot of these girls have been working really hard.

Oglesby said one of his biggest tasks is replacing the graduated Alexis Lafferty, who not only was one of the team's best hitters but also anchored its infield defense at shortstop. For now, McKinney appears to be taking over that spot if she's not pitching.

Oglesby, now a city commissioner in District 3, said he probably won't miss more than a couple of games due to his city government responsibilities.

Either way, he expressed faith in his new assistant coaches. Jakus Martinez coached the local Little League girls softball last season that qualified for the playoffs. The other assistant, Erika Vasquez, was a member of the 2019 team that set a school record for victories in a season.

"I'm excited about the coaching staff, I really am," Oglesby said.

He said he's also excited about the new softball field that was built after a voter-approved $3 million bond issue.

"It's way better than what we've played on, you know?" he said. "The girls are excited."

McKinney said the new field "is so much better."

"There are no more stickers," she said. "We can actually slide on this dirt without it hurting."

"They've been talking about these new fields for my freshman, sophomore year," Roybal said. "In my senior year, it's really nice to play on a new field."