The Beggs Lady Demons have a new coach at the helm of a loaded lineup as they enter the 2020 fast-pitch season. Stephen Castleberry, who is also the girls’ basketball coach, has taken on the role as Head Softball Coach for the Lady Demons this year after Trent Patterson left to coach at Deer Creek. Castleberry is not a stranger to the Lady Demons or to softball. He spent around 10 years coaching softball.

“I used to coach [softball] before many years ago and I really like it,” Castleberry said. “I know these kids. I like these kids, I think it’s a great group and it’s an easy transition since they already know who I was. I know who they are and with all that’s going on, an easy transition is probably easier than bringing someone else in and trying to figure this mess out.”

Despite being away from the game for a while, Castleberry is excited to return to softball. According to Castleberry, he’s been to several softball games and knows the excellent lineup of players Patterson left behind.

“I went to almost every softball game anyway,” Castleberry said. “As much as I’m a basketball player, I want to go watch them play and support them and all that. So, I mean like it. Plus, I think we are going to be pretty good. That don’t hurt.”

The Lady Demons have several talented seniors returning this year, including pitcher Kaci Phelps and heavy hitters like Haileigh Mills, Kaylee Hutton and others. All three Lady Demons were key to the strong season Beggs had in 2019.

“We are senior heavy, which is good,” Castleberry said. “They won a lot of games over their careers. You know, Kaci in the circle every night is going to give you a great shot of beating anybody we play and it’s just a matter of bringing some of our younger kids and get some more experience and get better and hope we get to play.”

Last season, the Lady Demons had a successful run in the middle with a 10-game win streak. They even earned three shutout victories over Eufaula (10-0), Sperry (8-0) and Spiro (10-0), dominating their opponents with tough defense and a great batting lineup. Phelps is returning to the circle and will have the majority of the Lady Demons’ pitching responsibilities. Throughout the 2019 season, Phelps and the Lady Demons had six shutout wins.

However, Castleberry is also hoping to put Brooklyn Angeliski in the circle throughout the season. He’s hoping to give her some experience before Phelps graduates.

“Brooklyn Angeliski is a sophomore girl and she’s probably going to be our future,” Castleberry said. “No doubt she’s going to be our future and we are going to get her some innings. She’s thrown some in scrimmages and we’ll try to get her every chance we can, try to throw her every JV game, get her some varsity games because I think there’ll be some games that I think we will be a little better than some of the others.”

Angeliski was also a decent hitter for the Lady Demons last season. She had 24 hits that resulted in 12 RBIs for the Lady Demons.

“She’s got the chance to be a really good player,” Castleberry said. “She really, really does.”

With the pitcher spot filled by a talented senior and sophomore, the Lady Demons are also looking solid in the infield. Senior Haily Barnes had been tapped to play first baseman before a broken tibia put her on the DL list for six weeks. Now, Castleberry is looking to not only find a replacement at first base but also in the batting lineup.

“That’s a big chunk out of our offensive lineup and she’s been multi-positioned on the field too,” Castleberry said. “So, I mean, I can’t tell who or where everybody is right now because in scrimmages we’ve been kind of putting people in a lot of places.”

A deep bench has allowed Castlberry some freedom to assemble his team both offensively and defensively. The Lady Demons wide variety of talent will make them a threat this year and they will be looking to redeem short run in the OSSAA Class 3A Regional Tournament.

“A lot of our drills we’ve been everybody through everything, because you know what you’re going to find,”running Castleberry said. “Caylee York, pretty good third baseman, hadn’t played it in three years, no one can remember the last time she played and looks really, really good at it.”

The Lady Demons are expected to open the season against an opponent they didn’t face last year - Stroud. The Class 2A Stroud Lady Tigers made a run at the State Tournament last year, falling in the first round to Dale in a 14-4 battle. The Lady Demons are scheduled to host the Lady Tigers at 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 10. They are also set to travel to play Okmulgee on Tuesday, Aug. 11 and Spiro on Aug. 13.