Club Spotlight: Oklahoma Angels Go on Home Run Barrage in Colorado with 19 Dingers in Six Games!

It’s appropriate that heading into the Independence Day weekend, the Oklahoma Angels team coached by JC Yeatts is shooting some fireworks of their own into the atmosphere.

The 16U team, playing in the Colorado 4^th of July 16 Power Pools, has gone 4-2 so far this week including 2-0 in bracket play and in six games has scored 56 runs or an average of 9.33 per contest.

On Friday, the team won both bracket games by putting up 11 runs in each victory and impressively has slugged 19 home runs in the half dozen games or more than three per game.

Leading the way is 2023 infielder Bella Cabral from Fairhope, Alabama, who continues to impress with her stick.

Bella, who was profiled on Extra Inning Softball in June of last year and was ranked in the Top 30 of the 2023 Extra Elite 100, has smashed eight home runs with an eye-opening 17 RBIs while batting .667.

She says the power supply has been because the players have all helped each other out.

“We all do a good job about communicating to each other about the pitcher,” Bella explains, “so that we go in as our most confident selves, knowing and believing that we will succeed and have given everything we had in that at-bat. We end up knowing that the team has each other’s back and that we want each other to succeed.”

A smooth and skilled shortstop, the incoming junior has gotten “so many looks this week” according to her coaches because of her performance in the tournament as well as coming straight from the Oklahoma prospect camp held prior to the Colorado event.

Three other committed players are also getting in on the offensive onslaught.

Lily West, a 2022 catcher/second baseman from Choctaw, Oklahoma, has three home runs with six RBIs and is hitting .467 while Stephen F. Austin commit C.J. Yeatts, a 2022 C/1B from Ardmore, Oklahoma has cracked four home runs with 11 RBIs and is hitting .571.

West says the offensive production is a way to help the Angels’ pitching staff feel more comfortable.

“We are all focused on giving the most comfort to our pitchers as we can,” she says, “and making sure we back them up. Even if we are down, we are confident that our bats can get us back in the game in just one swing which is helpful in the long innings we are playing.”

Yeatts adds: “I feel like we are really seeing the ball well right now as a team.”

She also says being committed gives her and her teammates more fans to impress with the long ball.

“It’s different this year being on the committed side of the recruiting process,” she admits. “I’m always ready to perform for my team, and now you add your future coaches to that mix, and it’s just a lot of fun to have success on this stage.”

2022 outfielder and Corpus Christi A&M commit Gabby Higbee states:

“When we are playing, we aren’t really worried about playing in front of our future coaches. We are focused on succeeding in our at-bats to help our team out. Focusing on the team helps relax us and play our game to the best of our abilities.”

The Angels play Saturday at 10 am in Olympic Park against Fury Platinum – Polk from Tennessee, which has gone 5-1 so far in the tournament and is coming off a big 14-4 win over Glory Adkins Gold on Friday.