LINCOLN - Senior Lexington Dobbs brings a competitive streak to the softball diamond that carries over to her teammates and is carrying her onto the next level.
Starting at catcher, Dobbs hit around .315 last season as a junior and belted a pair of home runs showing enough promise to draw the attention of Quachita Baptist University, at Arkadelphia, which she signed a national letter of intent to play women's college softball for Friday. Lincoln coach Beau Collins distinct remembers Dobbs' exhortation in the dugout pumping up her teammates during a first-round state tournament game against Bauxite last spring.
"Her competitiveness was infactious, she kind of influenced the rest of the team," Collins said, recalling when the Lady Wolves were in a couple of really tight games last year, including the state tournament game that was scoreless into the fifth inning against Bauxite, when Dobbs asserted herself vocally as the Lady Wolves came off the field and prepared for their next at-bat. "I remember her saying, 'All we need is one, we've got this,'" Collins said.
Lincoln went on to record a 1-0 victory advancing to the second-round, a game Dobbs said is one of her favorite memories of playing high school softball at Lincoln.
"That was the farthest I've ever been on a softball team," Dobbs said. She thanked all of her coaches, who have contributed to her development as a softball player from T-ball on and made special mention of her parents, Dwayne and LaDonna Dobbs. "I want to thank my parents for always getting me everything I needed for a game, even if it meant going home to get my cleats because I forgot them," Dobbs said.
She thanked her teammates for helping her never lose her love for the game. Lincoln assistant softball coach Megan Jobe called Dobbs a "dedicated role model for younger players," saying she can't wait to watch Dobbs go to the next level. Collins said beyond winning games, conference championships and competing at the state tournament, the goal of the softball program is to get Lincoln athletes into position where they will be able to play at the next level. Lincoln athletic director Deon Birkes said lots of people have had a hand in Dobbs progressing as a player to the point where she is receiving a scholarship to play college softball.
"This is what we want athletics to be all about, to have kids play at the next level," Birkes said.
Like many other well-wishers present, Collins was experiencing mixed emotions. Part of him is sad to see Dobbs go and wishing she had more than one season of high school eligibility to help build Lincoln's softball program. On the other hands, Collins is proud of Dobbs accomplishments and thankful she is getting an opportunity to further her education.
"She's one of the girls that has really helped focus the team and turn us around," Collins said. "Her leadership as a junior along with a couple of sophomores that we had last year was part of a core group that enabled us to have the success that we had last year."
Collins plans to build some tradition around the achievement of reaching state and advancing that he hopes will carry the program in an upward direction for the next few years. Besides her offense, Dobbs was solid behind the plate last year. She threw out six base runners trying to steal second and didn't allow very many passed balls to get by her while starting every game Lincoln played. Collins said Dobbs' vocal leadership is a constant whether the Lady Wolves are ahead or trailing or in the midst of a team workout.
"In practice she's encouraging the girls to keep working," Collins said. "She was one of the girls that met me here before school even started when I was hired. There were 9 or 10 girls who asked me, 'what do I need to get started on?' That really impressed me."
Sports on 11/16/2016