Russellville Lady Indians softball got to celebrate another player signing up to play college softball on Dec. 13 when senior Cali Coombs signed with the Truman State Lady Bulldogs.
Coombs began playing parks and recreation tee ball in elementary school and quickly developed a love for the game. A few years later, she started playing softball for the Aces Fastpitch travel team and spent multiple summers traveling across Missouri. Coombs said that since the Aces are a national team, she has also played out of state, with her travels taking her as far as Georgia.
Coombs began her high school career with Russellville as a strong player and immediately fell in love with Russellville's softball program with the help of her teammates and head coach Lucas Branson. Although Coombs' freshman season ended in heartbreak, it was only a sign of better things to come. As Coombs and the Lady Indians won third place in Class 2 softball this past fall.
"It was really awesome to be able to see our growth from one year to the next. My freshman year, we had a 16-8 record, but we were knocked out of the first round of districts, but every year we've gotten better and better," Coombs said. "Last season was so great for us because we had a very young team and we really struggled in the first few weeks of practice with meshing with each other and coming together as a team. However, we grew more and more as a team and it was amazing to see these young players just grow so much in this short amount of time."
Coombs said that the best win of the 2022 season came on Sept. 26 against Dixon. The Lady Indians trailed the Lady Bulldogs 13-8 when one of their best hitters went home sick. Russellville pull off a stunning comeback with seven on-answered runs to defeat Dixon 15-13.
Throughout her career with the Lady Indians, Coombs earned All-State accolades three straight years. She has also been a four time Show-Me All-Conference selection and was once selected as the league's most valuable player. Coombs finished her high school career ranked third in the state with 59 career doubles, fifth in the state with 163 runs and 191 career base hits. In addition to her stellar softball accolades, Coombs also ran track and field for Russellville. She earned All-District honors in the 100-meter hurdles and was named to the All-Conference team in both the 100 and 300-meter hurdles.
Coombs said that Truman State bears a great athletic and academic program similar to Russellville. Once Coombs saw that Truman had everything that she was looking for, she said that she had to look no further and that it was almost a done deal right then and there.
"I decided to became a Truman State Bulldog because I absolutely love the campus. The athletic program there is amazing and the coach there, Ron Ferrill, is really passionate about students getting their work done in the classroom first and still being a good softball player," Coombs said. "Coach Ferrill is new to the program, but they've had a proud tradition of winning over the past couple of years. They're really trying to rebuild their program. They're also getting a new turf field next year so I'm looking forward to that."
Russellville softball senior signs her commitment letter to Truman State on Dec. 13. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
The Coombs family celebrate Cali's signing to Truman State on Dec. 13. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Coombs played for the Aces Fastpitch softball travel team and was joined by the Aces' coaching staff at her signing ceremony on Dec. 13. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)