Former Ladycat Moore earns All-Central Region
Jun. 18—SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Former Palestine Ladycat softball player Gabby Moore earned All-Region Central Region for her performance with Ecclesia's softball team.
Few things in this world are more inspiring than people who overcome adversity and obstacles to achieve their goals.
Beyond the scores and stats, sports give rise to stories of athletes who persevere, exhibit sportsmanship and defy the odds to achieve success.
For Moore, the odds of her competing on a collegiate softball field were near zero percent at the start of her senior year at Palestine.
Her focus heading into her final year of high school was to cheer on the collegiate level. Though she grew up playing softball, her passion was cheering.
It wasn't until Palestine head softball coach David Reed approached her with an opportunity to play in the outfield that playing softball crossed her mind again.
"I forgot how much I loved playing softball," Moore said.
The Ladycats' season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Moore did enough in her short time to earn a call from a coach at North Platte Community College in Nebraska — where one of her teammates, Brynna McGuire, had committed earlier that year.
In March 2020, Moore signed her national letter of intent to play softball at NPCC.
A turbulent beginning to her college experience in the fall semester sent her into a place of unhappiness. Lack of a support system, coupled with a lack of playing time slowly began to drain the passion for softball Moore had rediscovered her final year at Palestine.
"I began realizing this wasn't the place I wanted to be," Moore said. "Being there took an emotional and physical toll on my body."
Neither Moore, nor McGuire, felt North Platte was the best place for their success moving forward. McGuire eventually found herself at Ecclesia College in Springdale, Arkansas.
Moore began packing her dorm after returning to campus in the spring, diligently working out where to go next.
In the midst of her move, she got a call from Ecclesia softball coach Ryan Lindsey. He invited her to campus. The next morning, Moore prepared for the nine-hour drive from Lincoln County, Nebraska to Springdale.
She arrived at Ecclesia near midnight — eagerer to begin a new chapter.
"I knew God was taking me from a broken place to somewhere I was going to flourish," Moore said. "I knew I could find my place here and that this was my calling."
Moore claimed the last available jersey number they had to offer, number one, which was the number she wore in high school.
She finished the season with 10 home runs, including a two home run performance against Bacone College where she cracked a two-run walk-off bomb to win the game 8-7.
"Whether it's a coach, parent, or friend, find someone that has your back no matter what," Moore said. "Once you do that, you'll realize that they'll always be there for you no matter what, and you will always be good enough for them."
"I've been extremely lucky to have a few of those people in my life, and when I realized what an amazing support system I've got as my foundation, that's when I started playing balls to the walls."
