Rylie Tucker guards home plate for Okeechobee. [Photo by Richard Marion]

OKEECHOBEE- The Okeechobee High School varsity softball team will host the Glades Day Lady Gators at OHS in their first home game of the season on Feb. 22.

The Lady Brahmans finished 10-7 last year and advanced to the regional quarterfinal. But they’ll be headed into this season without a few of the players that played a crucial role in their recent success.

Last season the team said goodbye to seniors, Laci Prescott, Morgan Hancock, Hailey Quesinberry, Jasell Rueda, and Jaclyn Pearce. Prescott and Pearce were second and third on the team in hits last year,  while Prescott also led the team in RBIs. Quesinberry, Rueda, and Pearce were all tied for the most stolen bases last season.  And Prescott was an ace on the mound for the Lady Brahman’s, striking out 57 batters.

That leadership and production will be sorely missed, but the Lady Brahman softball program has always been great at developing players to keep the team always in the hunt for a district title.

Last season, as a junior, Mallory Collier had three home runs. Fellow junior Rylie Tucker was second on the team in RBIs with 22 followed by Collier with 17. Tucker has already committed to continue playing softball at the next level at softball at Cedarville University in Ohio. Tucker and Collier also both just earned first place finishes in the district weightlifting for Okeechobee.

Glades Day’s game in Okeechobee will be the last of a three-game road trip to start their season. The Lady Gators will make a trip around the entire lake, facing Clewiston on Feb. 15, Moore Haven on Feb. 21 and finally Okeechobee on Feb. 22.

Glades Day had a 9-7 record last season. The last time the Lady Brahmans and Lady Gators faced off in 2022, Okeechobee came away with a 9-2 victory.