Second in a series of seven.

Part 1: Shortstop Taylor Hoke (Feb. 16, 2015)
 
MSUB SPORTS – Kelly Glass rarely has a moment to breathe, let alone watch any softball when the Desert Stinger Classic rolls into town every February.
 
The head coach at Palo Verde High School in Las Vegas is too busy jumping from field-to-field, ensuring her squad of Panthers is appropriately stationed to help with scorekeeping during the largest softball tournament in the NCAA Division II. The 31-team congregation plays 80 games that span over eight fields in a three-day period, and Montana State University Billings serves as the host school.
 
Every so often, Glass will pause to soak in the action at Majestic Park. This year, that moment came during one of MSUB's games, when a familiar face stepping into the batter's box captivated Glass's attention. It was senior Yellowjacket first baseman Emily Osborn, a Las Vegas native and one of Glass's former players with the Rage club team.
 
"I can't remember which game it was, but I stopped what I was doing when I realized that she was up," Glass said regarding Osborn. "On the second pitch of the at bat she hit a home run and I just remember smiling and clapping. It was the one moment of softball I got to capture all weekend and it just so happened to be Emily hitting a home run."
 
It was a fitting representation of the path Osborn has journeyed from her days as a youth player to her current status as a four-year starter at MSUB. Glass surely felt a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment, witnessing a reassuring example of Osborn's success at the college level.
 
For Osborn, the swing represented something she has been crafting since well before her time with Glass.
 
THE LIFE OF A LEFTY
 
Many a young ballplayer would consider throwing left handed somewhat of a curse, a natural hindrance forever limiting her options on a field defensively. Most end up either in the outfield or just getting "stuck" at first base, the only positions conducive to southpaws other than pitching.
 
Difficult is the task of finding a comfortable spot as a left hander, but harder still can be tracking down a quality piece of leather that is custom made to outfit the right hand rather than the left. "We signed her up as a left hander and I went out and found a first baseman's mitt at a garage sale," remembered Osborn's father, John. "I tried to go out and help her the best I could, and we were lucky to get her with some good coaches along the way that helped her a lot."
 
While Osborn knew she would never be a shortstop or catcher, she tested the waters everywhere that her specialized lefty glove would allow as a young player. "I started in the outfield and then moved to pitcher," Osborn remembered. "When I was around 12 years old I stopped pitching and then moved over to first base."
 
With softball being the only sport Osborn played growing up, by the time she reached eighth grade the commitment to the diamond began paying off. Her freshman year of high school, Osborn was slotted directly onto her local Under-18 team, completely skipping the U-16 level as a 15-year-old.
 
"When Emily was first trying to get onto the team she was considered too young so we had to get approval from the commissioner," Glass remembered. "Once that happened however, it was obvious that she belonged on the U-18 squad."
 
Traveling to play the sport she loved consumed much of Osborn's time in high school, as tournaments in California constantly beckoned her through the summer months and into the fall ball season.
 
"Travel ball was always my favorite type of softball," said Osborn. "We would play tournaments in California for six weeks in-a-row and we would go to recruiting tournaments in October. We never really had a break from softball, it was year-round."
 
By Osborn's side every step of the way were her parents, who never shied away from making the long road trips to watch their daughter develop into a college-level prospect. "My parents have always been there for me, and they have been my biggest influences and supporters no matter what," Osborn said regarding her father and her mother Caryl. "Almost every single game, they have been there."


 
WELCOME TO FABULOUS MSUB
 
When Osborn had reached her junior year of high school, the thought of continuing her career at the next level was starting to become a reality. It was also the inaugural year of the Desert Stinger Classic, and little did Osborn know that what seemed to be just another volunteer effort at a tournament would end up connecting her with her future college coaches.
 
"I specifically remember putting Emily on the field MSUB was playing on so that she could watch them," Glass remembered. "I wanted her to see what good softball looked like, and at that time I was trying to get her recruited as her club coach. I wanted her to see first-hand what the program was all about."
 
More than anything, Glass was simply trying to give one of her top players a front-row seat for competitive collegiate softball. While Osborn may not have directly connected with MSUB when first working at the Stinger games, the fact that she was made aware of the program influenced her ultimate decision to commit to becoming a Yellowjacket.
 
"Emily was at a recruiting camp over Halloween weekend in Las Vegas called the City of Lights, and it was kind of ironic that I ended up being her coach at it," said MSUB head coach Lisa Allen. "She was excited to work with me, but also nervous that I would be seeing every move she made during games."
 
"MSUB was the only school I ever went and looked at, and I actually ended up verbally committing at that showcase in Vegas," said Osborn. "I knew I wanted to go into education, and the fact that MSUB had a really good program for that is what geared me towards it."
 
IN GOOD HANDS
 
"Emily makes crazy plays. I don't know how she picks some of the balls she does at first base. She saves a lot of people from bad throws." – Shortstop Taylor Hoke on Emily Osborn.
 
California served as tournament central for high school softball players throughout the west, and it was at a tournament after she had committed to MSUB that Osborn made her first connection with one of her soon-to-be teammates.
 
Suited up behind the plate in catching gear was Adna High School senior Taylor Hoke. Although it is not uncommon for the umpire to call timeout and pause briefly before resuming action, it caught Hoke by surprise when he stopped the game mid-inning to share some important information with Hoke.
 
"He said to me, 'so do you want to meet your future teammate?'" Hoke said.
 
Unsure how to respond, Hoke rotated her baffled expression 180 degrees and accompanied the umpire to the backstop, where she was introduced to Osborn's father who was observing the game. Osborn herself was warming up in the outfield.
 
"After the game we kind of met each other for the first time," Osborn remembered with a smile. "The umpire had known me and my coach from Vegas, but I had no idea that Taylor and I were at the same complex."
 
The introduction of the two was unexpected, and little did they know that they would connect immediately and become roommates together for their freshman year at MSUB. Thousands of throws across the diamond later, and the two have melded into best friends and developed a deep trust in one another.
 
"Emily stops everything that comes her way, and it makes it a lot more comfortable for the rest of the infielders," Hoke said. "She is an all-around good player, is always consistent, and never really gets down on herself."
 

Jordyn Roark, a fellow infielder, is used to the target Osborn displays at first base having played with her on Glass's travel ball teams in Las Vegas. "Emily always seemed to take the younger kids under her wing and help them have the same work ethic as her," Roark said. "She is a very disciplined player, and she has a goal in mind and works towards it. She has really helped establish that within the younger players like me and instilled it in us."
 
Osborn admits that defense has always been her favorite part of the game, and she has grown comfortable understanding her role in picking up her teammates at first base.
 
"Emily's best quality as a first baseman is she knows when to come off of the bag and she is very good at reading the ball out of infielders' hands," Allen commented on Osborn's defensive prowess. "The biggest thing she has improved on is her range to her glove side."
 
The example that Osborn sets for her teammates extends off the field as well, with her accomplishments in the classroom and willingness to counsel players standing out as unique traits. Carrying a 3.6 grade point average Osborn has always recognized the importance of her academics and has tried to instill that within her teammates. "Grades have always been important to me," said Osborn, who is majoring in education. "Dr. Natalie Bohlmann in the education department has helped me a lot throughout all of my classes and has been there whenever I have had questions or needed help."
 
"Academically, Emily has shown people that it is possible to maintain a high GPA while being a student-athlete," Allen said. "With the extensive travel and busy schedule that we have, we all know this is not easy to do."
 
AROUND THE HORN
 
As Osborn competes in her final season for the Yellowjackets, her name will continue to rise through the rankings within the MSUB record books. She is currently ranked fourth in career RBIs (102), third in career putouts (744), tied for seventh in career home runs (18), and No. 9 in career hits (138). She holds a career fielding percentage of .978, and has started every single game at first base since her first as a 'Jacket on Feb. 10, 2012 – a string of 139 in-a-row.
 
The all-around numbers Osborn has put up are remarkable, but they alone don't tell the full story of what she has given to – and taken from – her time as a Yellowjacket. Specifically, Osborn reflected on the unique experience she has shared with the six other graduating seniors – Aubrey Conceicao, Brittney Sanders, Jessyka MacDonald, Jessica Campbell, Mary Grace Bywater, and Hoke.
 
"It is amazing to have known these girls for so long, and to see how much all of them have grown," Osborn said. "All of the seniors are so kind-hearted and it is amazing how well we fit together on the field. When we get out there, we feel unstoppable."
 
Osborn also credited MSUB's coaching staff for trusting in her and counting on her to hold down her spot at first base for four-straight years. "I have always looked up to Boomer as a coach, and it is cool to be part of her first full four-year class as a head coach," Osborn said, referring to her coach by her nickname. "Bekah has been like the mom of the team and she is always there for everyone."
 
A significant part of Osborn's experience at MSUB was reaching the NCAA West Region Championships as a freshman, as she helped the Yellowjackets win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship and advance to the playoffs in her first season.
 
"It was surreal that whole season," remembered Osborn. "The experience of going to regionals was really cool, it was a whole different atmosphere."
 
It is a level the Yellowjackets are striving to return to in 2015, and after beating a pair of ranked teams in Humboldt State and Augustana at the Desert Stinger, the team has shown it can compete with the best squads in the region.
 
Osborn and her fellow seniors know what it takes and have the experience of making it to the NCAA postseason. "We definitely think we have the opportunity to go to regionals again this year," Osborn said. "The fact that we always play well against top teams in the region proves that we are in it this season."
 
In a career that has been defined by consistency and looking out for others, it is Osborn's father that has cemented this mentality in his daughter since the day she first picked up a softball. Four years into her college career, John Osborn does not miss a single game day text message, with two simple, concise notions that express his love for his daughter.
 
"Work hard, don't get hurt," it reads.
 
It is what Osborn has done from the time she dusted off her first left-handed glove that her dad retrieved from a garage sale, to her final stanza this season as a Yellowjacket.

Next: Part 3, Jessyka MacDonald, RHP