TEXARKANA, Texas - It didn't go exactly as planned.
Pleasant Grove senior softball player Presley Hargrove was unable to finish out her last season with the Lady Hawks due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"The news that the rest of the season was cancelled was not surprising," Hargrove said. "After the season was postponed and I saw the professional sports being cancelled, I knew it was likely that I wouldn't get to finish the season. I wanted to be positive and keep hope, but there wasn't much to look forward to. I'm a realist."
Hargrove played third base for Pleasant Grove. She is not going to play softball at college. Hargrove will attend the University of Arkansas where she will explore the business school. Her goal is to earn credentials in real estate.
"As much as I love sports, it was time to put that part of me behind me," Hargrove said. "All four years of my high school sports career I was torn between playing softball or soccer. I always ended up coming back to softball as my No. 1. I chose it because the environment that I was in was so much fun. It wasn't the game or anything in the sport, it was the people that I was around that made it so much better."
Hargrove has attended Pleasant Grove since kindergarten. She said that the people of the Pleasant Grove community have made her feel like family. Hargrove has played softball under head coach Becca Collom.
"Playing for Coach Collom was fun," Hargrove said. "She always made an effort to know her players. She was always someone that I could talk to. Collom taught me that everything in sports is applicable to life. She taught me that I can't stop at times when I get upset or get down on myself. Collom taught me that I have to keep going. I learned that from her and from the game of softball."