THE UNIQUE STORY THAT IS KYLIE LUNSFORD

Although she is one of two seniors in a Lady Bearcat uniform, Kylie Lunsford is as unique as the zero she wears on her back.

“When we started out as freshmen there were eight or nine girls and a lot of people didn’t like it. I think they thought it was hard,” said Lunsford. “And it was. We practice every day and we had expectations you met or you just didn’t get to play much.”

Lunsford herself sat and waited. But would not quit.

“Kylie has quietly her turn to step up into a big role for us,” said head coach Chad Simpson. “She’s a great senior leader and is having a really good year.”

While typical seniors may be looking at the postseason tournament portion of the season with some trepidation as their high school careers are drawing to a close, Lunsford instead has a different view.

“I’m happy. I’m ready to go to college,” said Lunsford.

However, that does not mean she is eagerly looking forward to the season actually ending.

“I want to win (a state title) again,” Lunsford says of the postseason journey that starts Wednesday in the District 3A-4 semifinals.

Pointing out two previous meetings with expected semifinals opponent Charleston have been one-sided, Lunsford is anxious to meet Hackett again.

“Hackett,” she says of, again, an expected opponent. “I think that we need to play better as a team, but I think that we can beat them if we really try, and I mean really try,” adding extra emphasis on the last two words.

Hackett won the regular season game in Hackett coming out of spring break.

“We played really bad,” Lunsford says of that meeting.

The last time the Lady Bearcats were shelled by Hackett it was in last year’s district tournament final, which they then followed up with a Class 3A state title run, including beating Hackett in the state semifinals.

It was the end of that run in which Lunsford played a part, albeit and unfortunate one in Lady Bearcat lore.

While the story of teammate/fellow senior Lexi Franklin being struck in the head with a bat during a hitting practice stop on the way to the game at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway was widely reported, the fact that Lunsford swung the bat was generally not noted.

That did not keep Lunsford from taking it hard, really hard.

“I was afraid I was going to jail. I’m serious. That’s what was going through my head,” said Lunsford. “I was so scared. I wanted her to be ok, but I was also afraid of going to jail.”

She even called her mother to brace her for that possibility, and help with bail.

The fault is not necessarily entirely Lunsford’s. In conversations with Franklin, Lunsford said they came to a consensus that as Lunsford was taking practice swings before her turn to hit, Franklin was apparently approaching quietly to scare Lunsford when she was struck.

The incident, however, did change Lunsford’s pre-hitting routine.

“I wait until no one is even 15 feet from me. I look around and hold the bat to my chest until nobody is not around me,” said Lunsford.

Franklin came back after receiving stitches and was the talk of the state after throwing a complete game and being intentionally walked three times after hitting a double, and winning the MVP award.

Lunsford collected herself as well as possible. She was 0-for-4 but would reach on a fielder’s choice in the game and scored one of the runs in the 4-3 championship win.

Though she can catch, Lunsford is primarily a third baseman this season after being the designated hitter last year. Lunsford has recently moved into the cleanup spot in the Lady Bearcat order.

“It’s been very different to going from hitting and not doing much to also being the third baseman,” said Lunsford.”

She says the move to the cleanup spot was to help protect Franklin, now hitting second, and others in the top of the order.

“We were getting too many people left on base at the top,” said Lunsford. “So I think (Simpson) changed it up to see if we could get some more runs.”

As far as catching goes, she’s more than happy to do so.

“We put Makinley (Ensey) in (to pitch) because we need to give Lexi that break and we need to give (catcher) Roni (Tillery) that break too. Besides if Roni gets hurt at any point I’ve just got to go.”

Regarding the 0 number – she wore a 27 in volleyball – but “zero was my mom’s number and I didn’t want to be any other number and double zero is not allowed anymore,” Lunsford said.

Lunsford has played softball since moving to Booneville from Oklahoma in the second grade. Other that one year of elementary school in Charleston, she has been here since.

In addition to softball, Lunsford has played volleyball, and this year, golf. Again, she was one of just two seniors along with Mia Perez in a volleyball uniform. In golf she was the lone representative from her class as a “first time, and last time” player "but Coach (Jake) Fennell said you're a senior, you're playing golf."

She could not say no to a second sport with Fennell, who also coaches volleyball.

“Volleyball was rough when it ended. I don’t think softball will be that rough. We’ve won so many games and volleyball wasn’t that way,” said Lunsford.

Lunsford had taken up volleyball as a seventh grader and played some on a travel squad coached by older sister and BHS graduate Hayley.

That meant in addition to her parents Katrina and Heath Lunsford, she had to go home with a coach to hear about issues. She would remember it.

Like Kylie, Hayley also played softball and Kylie takes every opportunity available to remind the sibling who owns a ring.

“Sure, every day,” Lunsford said.

That is despite, unlike some seniors, Lunsford having a pretty full day including advanced fashion and interior design, honors anatomy and physiology, college course comp II, sociology, and athletics, besides working at the golf course.

She also took college courses during the first semester in anticipation for Arkansas Tech, where she hopes to prepare for a career in pediatric oncology nursing.

She is also almost overly active to include Future Career and Community Leaders (FCCLA) of America, in which she is qualified for the national convention, FCA, Beta, and she tutors classmates.

She also tried her had at the Bearcat mascot outfit but suffered from the heat in Searcy.

“It was really hot and I thought I could make it two whole quarters,” said Lunsford. “I didn’t make it.”

There have been no ill effects from overheating.

A sports family, Lunsford also has two younger brothers, the younger of which was struck in the head with a baseball last year – not by her, Lunsford is quick to note.

“I wasn’t even in town,” she says.