 "Photo: Rebecca Moore")
Senior softball pitcher Ashley Oldham is ready to graduate from Texas Wesleyan, but she has a few records to break before she crosses the stage in May.
At the age of 9, Oldham gave up gymnastics and followed her father’s path of stepping onto the mound.
“I wanted to be like my dad who played baseball in high school,” she said.
Oldham sought out Wesleyan after playing at Haltom High School.
“Being with all the girls on the team and always having fun has given me many memories throughout my softball career at Wesleyan,” Oldham said.
Sophomore first baseman Christina Kelley credits Oldham for being a key player and helping the team maintain the No. 1 spot in current RRAC softball standings.
“She stepped up as an outfielder at one point and has also taken on the role as one of our stronger hitters after not hitting in close to four years,” Kelley said. “She is just an all around wonderful person, and it has definitely been a privilege to be her teammate.”
In her junior season, Oldham was named all-RRAC and led the conference with a 1.97 ERA.
She was named pitcher of the week four times. She was also named to the RRAC all-conference team as a sophomore and led the Rams with nine wins as a freshman. This spring, she received the O.D. and Maurice Bounds Scholar-Athlete Award and the Gene and Ann Burge Sportsmanship Award at the Wesleyan athletic awards ceremony.
As her senior season comes to an end, Oldham is focused on finishing strong. In a victorious double header against Bacone College, Oldham tossed a perfect game. She holds a Texas Wesleyan career record of 17 shutouts and is eight strikeouts shy of 330 to break the record set by Gina Gotcher from 1992-95.
Off the mound, Oldham has remained on the dean’s list every semester. She is a mass communication major with a concentration in advertising and public relations and a business administration minor.
“Ashley is such a great example of an all around balanced student-athlete,” Kelley said. “This year as a senior she has been a very strong leader taking on roles you never would’ve imagined her doing because of our team being reduced to such a small number of people.”
After interning during the summer, Oldham accepted a full-time position as a communication coordinator in the engineering department of Bell Helicopter in Hurst upon graduation.
Oldham said she will also tie the knot in July.
“I’m busy figuring out our wedding plans and where we are going to live,” she said.
As for softball, Oldham plans to be a spectator at her two younger sisters’ softball games once she finishes her last season as a Lady Ram.
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