Lady Lion softball standout inks scholarship

Despite being a multi-year standout for the Durant Lady Lions, Sawyer Strange sailed a bit under college radars while putting up solid numbers.

Strange helped push the Lady Lions to the Class 5A State Tournament each of her seasons in garnering All-District recognition, and in the process drew the attention of new Northeast Texas Community College coach Haley Colwell.

Colwell, who is a Texoma area softball product herself in North Texas, quickly made Strange one of the key pieces of her first signing class when the Durant senior recently inked a scholarship offer with the Lady Eagle program in Mount Pleasant, Texas.

The Lady Lion stalwart is expected to be mainly a pitcher for the junior college program but could also see action as a position player thanks to a solid bat.

As a senior at Durant, Strange fired 81 1/3 innings in the pitching circle, tallying a 6-5 record and one save while adding 72 strikeouts and a 2.75 earned run average. At the plate she also contributed a team-leading .383 batting average with six doubles, two home runs and 17 runs batted in to help key a 15-18 record and continue the string of Class 5A state tournament appearances which is now 10 straight.

“The coach at Northeast seemed really excited to get her,” Durant head coach Jimmie Wyrick stated. “They think she’s a steal and want to use her as a pitcher but liked her hitting as well. I’m really excited for her. I’ve only known her for a short time, but she has been a joy to be around. She works hard and is still even today working on her skills to craft her game and get better. Sawyer understands you have to sacrifice time to achieve expectations.

“I have no doubt she will be successful and enjoy her time in college softball. She doesn’t just want to be okay. She wants to be really good. It’s not always easy to find kids that want to put in quality extra time like she does.”