EP a VIP for Holliday softball
As Holliday senior Evelyn Perkins leads, the Lady Eagles softball team follows. The all-state centerfielder is a key catalyst for getting Holliday going.
As Billy Arbogast put it, “When she gets on base, bad things happen for the other team.”
Things weren’t always easy for Perkins on the softball diamond, however. Despite how effortless her game seems, it’s built off years and years of working in the cage and in the outfield to perfect her craft.
She began playing T-Ball at the age of four as a right-handed batter. After five or six years of limited success, her hitting instructor flipped her to the other side of the plate to convert to a slap hitter.
“I started getting good at that and gaining more confidence in myself,” she said. “Softball started clicking for me in late elementary school. I started to love it and I started to get good at it.”
Around the same time the game started coming together for her, Evelyn and her father Brian set a goal for her to make the varsity team as a freshman.
“That was the outlook I had from fifth grade to my freshman year. I made the team with Coach Nichols. Unfortunately we weren’t the best but it felt good to achieve that goal that had been set for so long.”
After her freshman season, Arbogast became the head coach of the Lady Eagles. Holliday was poised to have a breakout season in 2020. The Lady Eagles finally began to hit their stride around this same time in March before the world shut down due to the pandemic.
“We had a really good climax right before Covid. We didn’t start out that great but we were on the rise when it hit and it was really devastating,” Perkins said.
As a sophomore, Perkins was named a captain by Arbogast.
“I wanted to groom her for what I saw in her future,” the Lady Eagles skipper said. “She does it as well on the field as off the field. She’s doing work behind the scenes not just on the softball field but in the classroom and with other people. She’s not just trying to be a good softball player but a good person as well. She’s the first sophomore captain I’ve ever had.”
“Being named a captain was a big reassurance thing for myself because I have always had natural leadership abilities,” Perkins added. “It was reassuring to get that and use those abilities that God gave me.”
Her junior year took her completely by surprise with the historical success the Lady Eagles found.
“Last year I didn’t think we were going to be great,” she said. “I thought losing Marshal (Gillit) was going to be a big loss. We didn’t lose a game and it was a ride for sure. We went to state and it was really awesome.”
The individual success she found her junior year was good enough to earn all-state honors. The speed threat at the top of the Lady Eagles’ lineup hit .554 with 57 runs and 19 RBI. Once she was on-base, she was virtually a lock to end up on third after two pitches, stealing 46 bags and only being caught twice, boasting a .958 stolen base percentage.
This season, Perkins and the Lady Eagles are taking nothing for granted following last years run to the state semifinals.
“We’re taking it game-by-game. Knowing that while being a part of something so big and amazing is awesome, it’s also a lot of pressure. I’m still human; my teammates are still human and we’re still allowed to make mistakes. It’s going to happen. We are also going to be successful. That’s just how it is. We’re relying on the practice we’ve put in and the cohesiveness of our team is going to be a big part of it. I don’t want to say anything yet about state or how far we’re going to go. I’m just taking it game-by-game and pitch-by-pitch. It’s all about the little things this year. We have to accomplish the little goals to move on to the bigger goals like going to state.”
Once her playing career is finished, Perkins plans on attending Oklahoma State to major in Elementary Education. She had the opportunity to play collegiately but has decided to focus on her studies and starting anew in Stillwater.
“I’m really excited to graduate but at the same time, I’m really dreading letting this go. It’s the backbone of all my sports. Right now I’m trying to have fun and live in every moment for myself and my other teammates because if I get too focused on it, I won’t perform well. I’ve felt it coming for a while so I’ve had time to mentally prepare. I know I’ll be sad but I’m ready to turn the page as well. I’m looking forward to making new friends and being in a new place. I’ve been in Holliday my entire life. I’m ready to see something new and a fresh start and everything that comes with going to college.”
Through the first 15 games of her senior campaign, Perkins is hitting at a .460 clip with 23 hits, 12 steals and an impressive 26 runs scored.
As Arbogast eloquently put it, “The chances are really high that when Evelyn gets on that Holliday scores a run.”
