Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Carte Wheels Into Lady Tiger Dugout
PRAIRIE GROVE HIRES SOFTBALL COACH
PRAIRIE GROVE — Exuberance bubbles out of Brandy Carte as she outlines her vision for the Prairie Grove softball program.
Carte, who served as assistant to former Lady Tiger head softball coach Dustin Beck the last two seasons, was hired during Monday’s school board meeting. She was almost ready to do “Carte wheels” into Prairie Grove’s softball dugout as the Lady Tigers’ new head coach.
Carte envisions a program on the rise and makes no bones about her desire to elevate Prairie Grove softball to a level where the Lady Tigers habitually contend for a state championship. This is a concept she grew up with playing softball for legendary Farmington coach Randy Osnes. Carte was a freshman when Osnes took over the Lady Cardinal program in 19961997. As a senior she was part of Osnes’ first state championship team in 2000 after the Lady Cardinals switched to fast pitch.
Carte was part of three consecutive conference championship teams, all of which qualified for state. In her four years at Farmington the Lady Cardinals went 92-16 compiling back-to-back 25-2 marks during her junior and senior seasons. Three times she earned All-State honors and was a Regional MVP. Carte was invited along with many other former players to celebrate Osnes’ 500th victory after a contest Farmington won against Greenwood, 3-1, April 15. Osnes (511-146) reached the 500-win milestone April 1 during a 5-4 tournament win at Conway.
“I grew up in that program, basically it’s my foundation, I base everything I do on what I learned from him,” Carte said. “I went to that game. They had all of us former players come out to the field. It was neat to see all of the different girls from different age groups. We’re proud of him. He contributed to my love of the game. He’s one of the best coaches around.”
“I started with Coach Osnes. We built the (Farmington softball) program with him. I’m really excited about competing against him. Just growing up, he was always there for us.”
The flip side of that coin transfers Carte into a new role leading the Prairie Grove Lady Tigers against their rival, Farmington, her alma mater.
“I joke around and say, ‘it’s really hard to change from the (Cardinal) red to the (Tiger) black,” Carte said.
She won’t be the first coach to transition from one side of the rivalry to the other. Prairie Grove head football coach Danny Abshier grew up in Farmington, playing for the Cardinals in the annual ‘Battle of 62.’ Farmington head baseball coach Jay Harper graduated from Prairie Grove and competed for the Tigers against the Cardinals in football, basketball and baseball. Carte doesn’t have to blaze a trail, she can tap into those same competitive instincts. Her outlook won’t ever be the same again, once the first pitch is thrown.
Carte replaces Beck, who has taken a job at LeFlore, Okla. The Lady Tigers finished 19-11 overall and 7-5 in the blended 3A/4A District 1 in the 2017 season. The Tigers played 4A-1 Conference champion Gravette tough, losing 3-1, on April 17. After opening the District tournament with a 14-4 run-rule win over Berryville, the Lady Tigers lost in the semifinals and placed fourth to qualify for the 4A North Regional. Their season concluded with a 10-0 loss to Pottsville on May 5 — one game short of qualifying for the state tournament.
Carte’s favorite quote is by Pablo Picasso, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
“I feel like this applies to my situation in softball,” Carte said. “I was a successful individual in learning softball as well as playing for and with many different individuals that taught me so much about the game. Softball is my gift. This gift is used in many ways, not only in the game of softball. You gain knowledge, work ethic, determination, perseverance, teamwork and much more. Now my purpose, as a coach, is to give that gift away to my own team.”
Carte has also been around Huntsville coach Greg Sone, who led Prairie Grove to three-straight state championships from 2001-2003. That is a pinnacle Carte intends for the Lady Tigers to reach.
“My ultimate goal is to win state championships, that is something I grew up with that was a given — you went to the state championship tournament,” Carte said. “I have some really high expectations. I know it takes time to build a program, but we have a really good incoming senior class.”
Carte noted the Lady Tigers have qualified for regional play the last two years, but not advanced beyond that point. She plans to challenge Prairie Grove’s varsity to take the program to the next level.
“It’s always a question of ‘are they going to the state tournament?’” Carte said. “I want to change that to, ‘yes, we are going to the state tournament, are we going to win the state tournament?’”