The Meeker High School girls’ softball program started in 2014 and in 2017 the team qualified for the Colorado State Girls’ Softball Championships for a second year in a row, as district and regional champions, with an 18-4 record. Pictured standing are; assistant coach Samantha Gorney, head coach Briana Williams, team manager Jose Garcia, Karlee Nielsen, Jasmine Patterson, Grace Gibson, Victoria Lasker, Jadynn Archuleta, Megan Shelton, assistant coach Erik Brown, Matilda Brown, Kenzie Turner, assistant coaches Janae Shelton and Dr. Chris Williams. Middle; Serena Goedert, Madison Kindler, Makenna Burke, Gracie Bradfield, Taylor Dodds, Sierra and Brynlee Williams, with Mackenzie Marshall in front.
Williams played second base and was the lead-off batter for Meeker, with a .683 batting average, 41 base hits and 36 stolen bases. Powell only played in three games before being injured.
Bradfield had a .483 batting average, 29 hits, 25 RBIs and she stole 16 bases.
Bradfield and Coach Williams share a smile after a base hit.
Shelton, Meeker’s catcher and clean-up hitter, had a .581 batting average, 36 hits, including 12 home runs, 52 RBIs, scored 33 times and 18 stolen bases.
Marshall was the Cowboys’ ace pitcher, winning 10 games with 93 strikeouts.
Slugger Kenzie Turner also had a .388 batting average and one over-the-fence homer.
Patterson played the hot corner and had a .468 batting average.
Seniors Sierra Williams, Taylor Dodds, Abi Powell and Jasmine Patterson were freshmen when Meeker High School started a girls’ softball program in 2014 and this year the girls led their team to a district and regional championship, qualifying for the Colorado State Girls’ Softball Championships two years in a row.
Dodds played left field and had a fielding percentage of .933.
Lasker played shortstop, had a .388 batting average and won six games from the mound.
Brown, Meeker’s only starting sophomore, had a .377 batting average and had a .926 fielding percentage from her first base position.
Bobby Gutierrez photos
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MEEKER | “What a great season,” Meeker head girls’ softball coach Briana Williams said of her team, who qualified for the state tournament for a second year in a row but also for a second year in a row, lost to Rocky Ford. Meeker’s 13-game winning streak came to an end in the first round of the 2017 Colorado State Girls’ Softball Championships held at Aurora Sports Park last Friday. Meeker ended the season with an 18-4 overall record.
“We are so proud of the girls for the goals they set and accomplished, bringing the league championship and regional championship home to Meeker,” Coach Williams said.
The lady Cowboys were the home team against the Rocky Ford Meloneers and neither team scored in the first two innings. Rocky Ford took a 2-1 lead after the third inning of play and both teams were scoreless in the fourth. The Meloneers scored one in the top of the fifth inning, then Meeker took a 6-3 lead after the fifth inning but it was short lived, as Rocky Ford scored four in the sixth and shut Meeker out the next two innings to win the game.
“Qualifying for the state tournament two out of the three years the program has existed, is a direct result of the girls’ commitment to pushing themselves to improve individually as athletes and to strengthen their mental focus on and off the field,” Coach Williams said.
The lady Cowboys will graduate four seniors, Taylor Dodds, Jasmine Patterson, Abi Powell and Sierra Williams but will return five juniors with two years of state experience to lead Meeker next year.
“What a privilege to have worked with some of Meeker High School’s finest students this year,” Coach Williams, who was assisted by her husband Dr. Williams, Janae Shelton, Erik Brown and Samantha Gorney.
