You might call her a jack of all trades in softball. That’s Wagoner junior Jalyn Fourkiller who was recently named First Team All-District Utility Player in fast pitch for the recently completed season.
“I’ve played just about every position except pitcher and catcher,” said Fourkiller, a three-year starter for the Bulldogs. “I like playing short stop best because I feel comfortable there and know the position well.”
It’s the second year in a row that Jalyn has been All District to go along with making Honorable Mention All District her freshman year. This year Jalyn hit .311 with 28 hits and three stolen bases in helping lead the Bulldogs to the Class 4A Super Regional and a 21-12 record.
“Being All District means a lot to me. I find it rewarding that everyone sees how well I’m playing,” said Fourkiller who was also named Newcomer of the Year her freshman year and Defensive Player of the Year by the team last year.
Jalyn has an older sister that played softball ahead of her and so her dad got her involved in the sport when she was little, and she’s been playing ever since. She also plays travel ball with a team out of Oklahoma City and has been playing travel ball for about eight years.
In addition to softball, Jalyn also runs track in the spring, participating in the 400 and 800 meter open and the 4×400 and 4×800 relays. She also plays point guard on the Bulldog basketball team and even though she has played both basketball and softball since she was little, she says she enjoys softball more.
“I like softball more because I think I just have a real desire to play it.”
This past season was great according to Fourkiller, especially with the way things started.
“We were kind of slow getting started because we have several freshmen this year and it took us awhile to mesh together but once we did, we got better as the season went along and ended up on a good note.”
Though she’s only a junior, Jalyn was able to provide some leadership to the team this year.
“I think encouragement makes a good leader, so I tried to encourage my teammates and tell them good job or help them pick their head up if they made an error or had a bad at-bat. My one goal this year was to try and help everybody play together and be a leader throughout the season. I think being a team player is important and that’s how I’m approaching basketball this year. I just want to help where I can because right now a lot of our big players are out with injury.”
In addition to athletics, Jalyn is also busy in school activities as a member of the National Honor Society, FCCLA, and the Native American Club as well carrying a 4.0 GPA. Jalyn describes herself as kind, hardworking and friendly with the first two qualities being equally important to her.
“Through life you need to be kind to everybody and that way you’ll get some of that back and you have to be hardworking because life is hard and if you work hard, you’ll make it through.”
In her spare time, Jalyn likes to hang out with friends or spend time with relatives in Stilwell.
