ENID, Okla. — Oklahoma Bible Academy is excited for the opportunity of defending its Cherokee Strip Conference Tournament title.
“I’m really looking forward to just the competition against the local teams around,” OBA coach Jay Mendenhall said. “There’s a lot of solid teams, and I think this tournament is deep. I think it’s really wide open.
“I think it’s going to be exciting to see. There are always some surprises and upsets. We were a six seed last year when we won it. Hopefully we can defend a title, but there is a lot of work ahead.”
The Lady Trojans are competing in the Cherokee Strip Conference Tournament Friday and Saturday, Aug. 15-16, 2025, at Government Springs Softball Fields in Enid.
OBA, Kremlin-Hillsdale, Cherokee, Ringwood, Medford, Timberlake, Okeene and Waynoka headline the field this year, with OBA taking on Waynoka at 10 a.m. Friday.
OBA has started off 1-1 in the 2025-26 season. After losing to Drummond in the season opener, the Lady Trojans bounced back with a 19-6 win over Pond Creek-Hunter Tuesday at Pond Creek-Hunter.
The Lady Trojans were dominant on offense in the contest. They had 13 total hits, including nine runs in the second inning against the Lady Panthers.
Kinedi Fettke, Peyton Esau, Madi Mari and Addi Ryel each had two RBIs in the win, and seven players collected an RBI in the contest.
Before the season began, Mendenhall said their offense was capable of being a force throughout the season.
“Top to bottom in our lineup, I expect them to all step up at different times,” Mendenhall said in July. “Most of our lineup is capable of taking somebody deep at any point in time. The thing about that is it doesn’t put pressure on one person.”
Mendenhall said a similar statement when discussing the win over the Lady Panthers.
“I really like how our lineup can produce top to bottom,” Mendenhall said. “Kinedi is a very good hitter for us. “She makes contact, has a great eye at the plate and has a great on-base percentage. Peyton makes great contact and can put the ball in play.
“Several girls can even take you deep at any point in time. That makes it tough to defend because you can’t pitch around anybody. I feel like our lineup is as deep as it’s ever been, and that’s really fun.”
Mendenhall mentioned he wants them to jump out and start faster in games, especially in the first inning. With the tough teams in the tourney, Mendenhall expects that narrative to change this weekend.
“We hammer that a lot, especially with the rankings coming out soon,” he said. “If you don’t start fast, I don’t know if you have time to catch up. It’s just the nature of the system.”
One game at a time is what Mendenhall is preaching to his players this weekend.
“Never lose focus,” he said. Remember what’s at stake, but also remember it doesn’t define you at the same time. We’re here to learn. We’re here because this game helps us learn more about ourselves. Although it’s a great game, it’s not our whole life.
“We want to make sure that we’re taking it one game at a time. I have to make sure I’m trying to remind our girls that the one game at a time approach tells us a lot more about life lessons too.”