Prairie Grove, AR-2020

Spring Salute: Stout Always A Tough Out

No team was likely more motivated to get back on the field this spring than Farmington, which lost in the state softball finals the last two years. Farmington was stacked, too, led by 10 seniors, including All-State first baseman Kally Stout. But Farmington’s sea- son ended March 10 when the Lady Cardinals won 9-7 at Bentonville West. The Arkansas Activities Association called for a two-week suspension of play on March 12, then extended it again before finally deciding in April to com- pletely end spring sports across the state. Stout batted .439 with 10 home runs as a junior for a team that finished 24-3 over-all. Farmington was on the cusp of a dream season last spring when Pottsville rallied for a 7-4 victory over the Lady Cardinals in the Class 4A state championship game at Bogle Park in Fayetteville. It was the second straight year as state runner-up for Farmington, which was 3-0 this spring when games in all sports were canceled because of concerns about the spread of COVID-19. Stout was off to another strong start, highlighted by a 16-6 win over Bryant when she clubbed two home runs and pro- duced five RBIs. “Kally’s the best I’ve had here in 24 years, and we’ve had a lot of great players,” Farmington coach Randy Osnes said. “She has all the tools. She’s got speed, she’s extremely athletic, and she has one of the smoothest swings of any kid that I’ve seen.” Stout said she was having a great senior year at Farmington when the spring sports were canceled. “You take Kally, and these 10 seniors as a whole, their com- bined grade point average is 3.96,” Osnes said. “Kally is an outstanding young lady with a good head on her shoulders, and she does the right things. She’s going to do the right things at UCA. She’s going to get an education and she’s going to be a success. I’m very proud to coach Kally, her sister Keely, and the other eight seniors.”

Twin sisters, Kally (left) and Keely Stout, pose with a State Runner-Up trophy won as members of the Farmington softball team. Twice during their careers the twins helped the Lady Cardinals bring home State Runner-Up hardware — first from the 5A State tourney as sophomores in 2018 and then from the 4A State tourney as juniors in 2019.

Article and photo courtesy of Mark Humphrey, NWADG

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