Huckabee ending Lady Razorbacks’ career as pioneer

BY ROB KEYS

Posted on Sunday, May 4, 2008

URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/adg/224698/

FAYETTEVILLE — Dayna Huckabee has spent the majority of her fast-pitch softball career as a Lady Razorback, first at Texarkana High School and more recently at Arkansas.

In some ways, though, Huckabee is more a pioneer than anything else.

Huckabee, who likely will play her last college game today when Arkansas ends the regular season with a 1 p. m. game against No. 24 Mississippi State, is the only player from the state to cement herself as an everyday starter in the program’s 12-year history. She also has established herself in the record books, ranking among the top 10 in 17 career offensive categories, including hits, doubles, triples, home runs and RBI.

“Each year she’s just progressively gotten better... and the sad thing about seeing her graduate is that her best softball days would still be ahead of her,” Arkansas Coach Jamie Pinkerton said.

Huckabee still has room for improvement because like most Arkansas fast-pitch players her age, she got a relatively late introduction to the sport. While surrounding states measure their high school fast-pitch histories in decades, Huckabee didn’t make the jump from slow-pitch until age 13, about the same time the Lady Razorbacks first fielded a team and started a gradual transformation within the state.

Huckabee laughed when recalling how she thumbed through an early Lady Razorbacks media guide, only to realize all the players were from out of state.

“Even the best teams in Arkansas are mediocre compared to Texas and Oklahoma and other states,” Huckabee said.

That stance was reinforced during Huckabee’s freshman season, when she went from being a dominant pitcher at Texarkana to a struggling shortstop in the SEC. In fact, Pinkerton said he would have redshirted Huckabee if a lack of depth and an injury hadn’t forced him to insert her into the lineup at a position in which she’d only seen spot duty.

“I kind of got thrown to the wolves,” Huckabee said. “I think I almost passed out when they told me.”

Pinkerton said Huckabee displayed so much raw athletic skill he knew she’d eventually settle into the position. Huckabee confirmed that notion when she began to blossom as a sophomore, then entrenched herself as a mainstay even as Pinkerton increased Arkansas ’ overall talent.

Huckabee also has emerged as a team leader — she is a team captain this season — and a model representative of the type of student-athlete with which Pinkerton is trying to build his program. Huckabee recently was honored by the SEC for her community service efforts, and will graduate later this week with degree in kinesiology. She’ll return to work as a graduate assistant with the Lady Razorbacks next season as she pursues a master’s degree.

“I can go to bed at night knowing that Dayna Huckabee’s going to do the right thing and try to lead her teammates in the right direction,” Pinkerton said. “That gives a coach peace of mind.

“ She’s a better person than she is a player, and she’s a good player.”

As a living, breathing example of a homegrown fast-pitch force, Huckabee is a pioneer, too, a fact she recognizes in the faces of the little girls who seek her out at games.

“It kind of gives them a sense of hope that if you’re from Arkansas, like, maybe I can come here and play, too,” Huckabee said. “There’s not one thing about it that I would change.” Dayna Huckabee glance POSITION Shortstop COLLEGE Arkansas CLASS Senior HEIGHT 5-11 AGE 20 (born Nov. 23, 1985 ) HOMETOWN Texarkana HIGH SCHOOL Texarkana NOTEWORTHY Was the winning pitcher in Texarkana’s state championship victory as a junior, and was the Gatorade state player of the year in 2004.... Became the first Arkansas player to hit two home runs in a game as a freshman.... Ranks among Arkansas ’ career top 10 in 17 offensive categories.... Will graduate this week with a degree in kinesiology and serve as a graduate assistant while working on her master’s degree next year.