Softball All-Conference Players Helped Eagles Knock on Postseason Door

Three Eagle freshmen were 1st-team selections on the 2025 All-Golden Valley Conference Softball team, and sophomore Ashley Falk earned 2nd Team honors.

Pitcher Kaelyn Lange, shortstop Alexes Collier, and catcher Rylee Reasoner made the 1st Team after helping the Eagles finish in third place with an 11-7 GVC record and 19-21 overall mark.

It was the second year in a row the Eagles came within a win or two of making the postseason. Head coach Jon Cox said they finished ranked No. 18 in the Northern Region, but only 16 teams make the playoff bracket. He said they missed the top 16 by less than a percentage point and could have made it with wins in two non-conference games they lost by a 2-1 score to much lower ranked teams.

They finished conference behind undefeated champion Yuba (18-0, 33-6-1) and Feather River (13-5, 22-12) and ahead of Lassen (9-9, 15-21), Butte (8-10, 13-24-1), Mendocino (4-14, 12-28) and Shasta (0-18, 4-33). Yuba is seeded No. 4 in the Northern Regional and Feather River is seeded No. 15.

“We were very competitive, and I’m pleased with the way we played despite some injuries and missing three basketball players for the first part of the season,” Cox said. “Our pitching was better, and our offense was second to Yuba in conference in most hitting categories. The defense played well. Our six sophomores are moving on to bigger and better things, and this team set the groundwork for high expectations for next year’s team.”

Kaelyn Lange, Alexes Collier and sophomore Grace Hubbard of Etna are the three Eagles who joined the softball team late after basketball season ended.

Cox said all four of the Eagles’ all-conference players are “great student-athletes,” and three Eagles, Ashley Falk, Grace Hubbard and sophomore Kanalei Brasch of Mount Shasta, are among 62 recipients throughout the state for Academic All-America awards.

Cox said Lange, a left-handed pitcher from Coleville, CA, hadn’t thrown in a game for seven months by the time she started. “It was a process to bring her back into the swing of things.” Once she got beyond some control issues, she became a big part of the team’s success. She pitched two no-hitters, gave up 5 or fewer hits in 12 of her 16 starts, and gave up only 48 hits in 88 innings pitched.

Lange finished the season 3rd among GVC pitchers in Earned Run Average (2.61) and Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched (1.26). She was 4th in conference with 8 wins, 4th in strikeouts per 7 innings (5.53), and 5th in strikeouts (70).

“She kept us in every game she pitched, and she helped the offense while batting in the ninth spot,” Cox said. Though her number of at-bats was below the minimum required to be ranked among the leaders, Lange finished with a .375 batting average, .403 on-base percentage, .714 slugging percentage, and 18 RBIs in 56 at-bats. She was 2nd on the team with 12 extra-base hits, including 7 doubles, 3 triples, and 2 home runs.

Alexes Collier of Yreka, despite missing six games because of basketball and injury, stole a conference-leading 19 bases, which tied the single season school record set by Sydney Haynes in 2014.

Batting first in the lineup, she ranked 2nd on the team and 6th in conference with 32 runs scored, just behind another freshman, June Woster, who tied for 2nd in conference with 34 runs scored. Collier was also 2nd on the team with a .353 batting average, tied with sophomore Shelby Flournoy for second-most hits (41) on the team, and finished 3rd on the team in on-base percentage (.409), slugging percentage (.440), and total bases (51).

“She was one of our key players and became a much better defender this year,” said Cox, adding that the plan is to move her to the outfield next year to take advantage of her speed.

Rylee Reasoner from Cloverdale led the team and was among the GVC leaders in hits (45), RBIs (39), batting average (.381), on-base percentage (.444), and slugging percentage (.525). She led the team with 14 doubles and 15 extra-base hits and tied with Shelby Flournoy for the team lead in total bases (62). She ranked 2nd in conference in RBIs, 5th in hits and doubles, and top 10 in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, extra-base hits, and total bases. She struck out only 9 times in 135 plate appearances

At the start of the season, Cox said the plan was to split time at catcher between Reasoner and freshman Remie Strahm of Tualatin, OR. But an injury cut Strahm’s season short, and Reasoner was behind the plate in all 40 games. She was one of three Eagles, along with Shelby Flournoy and Ashley Falk, who played in every game.

Ashley Falk of Grants Pass, OR, made big contributions for the Eagles as a hitter, outfielder, and pitcher. She ranked 3rd on the team with 7 stolen bases and 5th with 21 runs scored. She finished with a batting slash line of .287/.347/.333 with 5 doubles, 13 RBIs, and some key bunts.

As a right-handed pitcher, Falk started 10 games, walked only 13 in 75 innings, and finished the season ranked 5th in conference in ERA (3.27) and tied for 6th in wins (7). She also had a save in conference.

Cox praised Falk’s “consistency throughout conference. She put in extra work before and after practices. It was the epitome of hard work.” He said she’s moving on next to be a two-way softball player at York University in Nebraska, which competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Sophomore left-fielder Shelby Flournoy of Corning ranked 3rd on the team with a .318 batting average, and freshman June Woster of Medford, OR, playing second base, ranked 4th at .313. Flournoy tied the team lead with 40 RBIs, which ranked 2nd in the GVC, and had only 11 strikeouts in 145 plate appearances. Woster tied for 2nd in conference with 34 runs scored and was 3rd in conference with 18 walks. She struck out only 12 times in 138 plate appearances.

Cox said Flournoy started the season hitting close to .400 in pre-conference games, played good defense in leftfield, and has drawn interest from four-year schools.

The Eagles will also be losing their excellent centerfielder from the past two seasons, No. 00 Nevaeh Harry of Grants Pass, who had a .277 career batting average while driving in 39 runs, with 48 runs scored, 9 stolen bases, 9 doubles, 5 triples and 4 home runs in two years.

Also moving on for the Eagles is sophomore pitcher Megan Allen of Eagle Point, OR, who started 23 games in two years, pitched in 31, threw 117 innings, and finished this year with a .473 ERA and 4 wins.

“One of our goals is for players to produce more their sophomore seasons, and all six of our sophomores did that this year,” Cox said. “That’s always a plus.” The sophomores finished their careers with a combined 24-14 GVC record.

Cox said five returning freshmen, including four of this year’s top five hitters, will be joined by a recruiting class of 12 players and maybe a couple transfers next year.

By Steve Gerace