Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Keeling Finds Niche At Lincoln
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NATIVE COMFORTABLE AT LINCOLN
FARMINGTON — On April 6, Lincoln assistant softball coach Brooklyn Keeling, a 2015 Farmington graduate, found herself in the opposite dugout competing head-tohead against her hometown.
The experience flooded her with old memories.
“I love playing at this field whether I’m coaching here or playing in the old days. This is where I grew up. Coach [Randy] Osnes had a huge impact on my life,” Keeling said.
She texted Osnes on game day asking him to come out to the game.
“Just seeing him and [remembering] all the experiences I had here that shaped my entire life. The way I coach, I do a lot of that based off the way he coached me so it’s just bittersweet,” Keeling said.
Expecting Success
Keeling brings an attitude of expecting success based on putting in hard work modeled by Osnes. She is well aware that Randy Osnes Field can be tough on opponents, something she tried to prepare the Lady Wolves for in advance. Lincoln lost 4-2 but Farmington had to work at getting a win.
“It’s a tough crowd to play in front of too. It’s always packed here and I told them coming in that this is probably going to be the closest atmosphere you’re going to get until we get that postseason [competition], state tournament run,” Keeling said. “You got to be able to play under that pressure, playing under the pressure of the crowd, lights, everything. It’s always great to play here, it just gives you a little bit of intensity and we like that. I’m proud of us for the show that we put on today.”
In her playing days the field was referred to as Lady Cardinal Field, but upon the retirement of Osnes after the 2021 season it now bears his name, Randy Osnes Field.
“It’s well deserved. He’s, in my opinion, the best coach in Arkansas, the best coach in the nation,” Keeling said.
Osnes Coaching Tree
Long time Farmington assistant Steve Morgan, who also coached Keeling in high school, came over and gave her a big hug as he prepared to coach first base during the Lady Cardinals’ first at-bat. Two weeks prior Morgan greeted Prairie Grove assistant coach Katy Chavis, another Farmington graduate and former Lady Cardinal slugger, during the Farmington Invitational.
“Coach Morgan and Coach Osnes have been like family to all of us. This field and what we do here at Farmington Cardinal Field is something different. They build relationships with their players and those relationships last a lifetime. we’re family,” Keeling said.
Earlier in the season Lincoln competed against another former Lady Cardinal, Samantha Luther, who is head coach at Gravette and another product of the Randy Osnes coaching tree.
“We all are inter-linked. It’s a small world, softball’s big but it’s a small world and it’s just cool to see all these players that he’s coached kind of find their own little spot in Northwest Arkansas to pull some of these teams together and she’s got a great bunch. They beat us earlier on the year and we felt kind of low to them but they’re a good team, they’ve got great coaching behind them and we’re a good team and we’ve got great coaching behind us and I feel like we’re going to give a good run in the postseason. They will, too, and so will Farmington,” Keeling said.
Strong Lincoln Team
Keeling played catcher for the Lady Cardinals in high school and takes a certain amount of satisfaction witnessing Lily Riherd develop behind the plate for Lincoln. Keeling coached Riherd at the 12 and under level. She recalls Riherd started catching at about 10. Riherd’s dad brought her to Keeling and she’s given her lessons since.
“She’s kind of grown up with me and we’ve got a really good relationship. She calls a lot of our pitches but when she struggles every now and then we’ve got good communication between the two of us. She’s a good kid, she’s very coachable and she’s one of the best ones around so I enjoy coaching her,” Keeling said.
The Lady Wolve s presented a two- headed monster in the chalked circle with either freshman Brinkley Moreton or sophomore Amber Bryant capable of racking up multiple strike outs. Lincoln could switch them out giving opponents one more thing to think about with the contrast in styles.
“They’re both very talented, they work really well together as a battery. Brinkley, you know she brings the heat. Amber, she’s got a little bit of movement, some offspeed that pulls in a little bit of difference between the two but they work really good with each other,” Keeling said.
Lincoln also boasted a more than capable lineup when it came to batting. Frequently the Lady Wolves strung together hit after hit, producing multiple runs illustrated by lopsided victories in the 3A-1. Lincoln ran the table, going 12-0 in league play, winning a conference championship and district tournament crown before finishing as runner- up to Booneville in the 3A Region 1 tournament and advancing to the Class 3A State quarterfinals. The Lady Wolves racked up a 29-7 overall record and played eventual state champion, Ashdown, closer than anybody else in the state tournament in a 6-5 loss on May 13 at Harrison.
“We struggle at times, but most of the time they get in the box, they get loaded, they get ready and they’re on it right off the bat so they’re fun to watch. It’s fun to see them hit the ball and then they string it together. I don’t know how they do it. I was always a head case in high school, but these girls, they’re not. They get in there and they compete every time,” Keeling said.
Feeling Blessed
Keeling relished her opportunity to join the staff at Lincoln and function as a softball coach in a program that former head coach Beau Collins took to the state tournament several times during his tenure.
“It was really a God thing. This experience opened up for me and this position. I turned down a head coaching position at the last school I was at to come up here and I don’t regret it one bit so it’s been a blessing to me, it’s been a blessing to my family and being able to coach these girls, it’s been awesome. It was the best choice,” Keeling said.
Keeling said her faith played into making the decision to take the job at Lincoln.
“My family lives about 10 minutes from the school so I got to come back home. I was down in the Fort Smith area coaching at Lavaca and I loved it down there. There was nothing wrong with being down there. They were good people, good students, good kids and it hurt to leave but I just felt like this was where I needed to be at,” Keeling said.
The Biblical passage from Galatians 6:10 which states, “As we now therefore have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially the household of faith,” mirrors her decision process. When Collins resigned, Lincoln was set to promote assistant coach Brittany Engel to head coach. Inquires were made if Keeling would be interested in taking the assistant coach position.
“I didn’t really go looking for a job. I was content with where I was at and I was reached out to and I felt like that was God’s way of telling me this is kind of where I’m pushing you and this is where I want you to go so I couldn’t decline an opportunity like that. It just seemed like he was opening the door for me and I had to take it,” Keeling said.
Decisive Intuition
As a former catcher she’s accustomed to being challenged by base runners attempting to steal, creating situations where she’s got to make a split second decision what to do with the ball. There were more than a few seconds to process taking a job at Lincoln, yet the nature of the catcher position served her well. Intuitively she knew it wouldn’t benefit her to prolong making a decision although her emotions tore at her.
“It was tough. I knew there was a possibility of our head coach at Lavaca leaving, but it wasn’t set in stone and I kind of wanted to wait just to kind of feel things out but I felt that if I didn’t take the opportunity when they gave it to me I was going to miss out on something special so I just went with my gut and I prayed about it and I felt like this is where I was needed to be,” Keeling said.
Keeling played college softball at the University of the Ozarks at Clarksville. Her most productive season occurred in 2017 when she started 10 games and appeared in 28. She homered and recorded two doubles highlighted by a 2- for- 3 performance against Sul Ross State. Keeling was named to the American Southwest Conference All-Academic Team.
At Farmington in 2015 Keeling hit .238 with 7 RBIs as a senior. She was named second team All-Conference as a junior and helped Farmington win three conference championships during her high school career. She led the Lady Cardinals to the state tournament as a senior and sophomore.