Lovelady Senior Signs to Play College Softball
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
LOVELADY – Lovelady Independent School District (LISD) High School Senior Morgan Womack signed to play softball with Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC) at a signing ceremony held at the high school Wednesday, April 26. Surrounded by family, teammates, coaches and administrators, Womack put her usual shyness on hold to smile for pictures and thank those who helped with the achievement.
LISD Athletic Director Will Kirchhoff introduced Womack and remembered the quiet young lady he first met several years ago.
“I remember first time entering class, she never said a word. She didn’t want to talk, just did her work, turned it in and maybe said, ‘Good morning,’” Coach “K” recalled. “But I remember the first time I was on a softball field, she was the first voice I heard, the loudest voice I heard – right out the gate I got to see the real Morgan Womack for the first time. Always encouraging her teammates, being that person who steers the show and I know that’s her happy place.”
Father Corey Womack was among the extended family to come out and watch Morgan sign her way into further play. He acknowledged Morgan did not attain success alone.
“A lot of hard work, a lot of years and a lot of good teammates and coaches,” Mr. Womack said. “Her brother played a lot of baseball and she watched him a lot. So I guess she caught on to that and took it and ran with it.”
With BPCC only few-hours drive from Houston County, Womack said he will still be able to see his daughter often.
“It’s a three-hour drive,” Womack said. “Plus, most of the teams she plays in her conference will be in will be Navarro, Trinity Valley, so she’ll play a lot of games in this area that are a lot closer.”
The shy young lady herself participated earlier in the year for a volleyball spotlight video produced by The Messenger. Reminded she shouldn’t be shy as she spoke very well in that video, Womack said, “Yes, but that was so hard!”
Asked why she thought she excelled more in softball than in her other sports, Womack said, “It was the sport I felt the most confident in. I don’t want to say it came easy to me, because it didn’t and I had to work at it. But working towards softball was more fun to me than working towards any other sport. And me and softball just clicked from a very young age.”
BPCC is a two-year college with about 20,000 students located near Shreveport, Louisiana. Womack said she was as sold on the school as they were sold on her.
“The facilities and everything are really nice. It’s clean and well-respected,” Womack said. “I really love the coaches. They are amazing human beings and I like them as people, not just as coaches.”
Her emotions began to show a little as her soon to be ex-teammates gathered for more pictures, Womack remembered how many friends she had made and the many underclassmen she was able to help along the way, too.
Coach K summed it up perhaps the best: “I’m extremely happy that she gets to extend her career. We’ve been so fortunate to have her over the last four years in our program and we’re excited to see how she continues on the softball field where she’s truly herself,” Coach K told the crowd. “I can’t tell you how proud we are of this kid and everything she’s done for our program.”
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]