Fort Lewis College softball head coach Paige Adair knows how to win in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Adair was the RMAC Pitcher of the Year in 2021 and 2022 at Colorado Mesa. The Mavericks had an 82% winning percentage while Adair was on the team.
Now in her second year as FLC’s head coach, Adair looks to bring a winning culture to a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2012. The Skyhawks went 17-30 overall and 15-23 in the RMAC last season under Adair.
“I'm super excited,” Adair said. “I've probably said I'm excited about 100 times in the past three days. It's just exciting when this is my first year with my own recruits in there … I’m excited for the returners we have, all the new pitching arms we have and the depth we have all across the field. It makes it fun and it makes it exciting every day in practice. So I'm super excited to see how games are.”
While Adair is used to winning, she said she learned to be patient during her first year. Of course, she wanted to win every game, but she now knows it takes time to build the program she wants with the philosophies she wants. Looking back, she realized her team wasn’t locked in for every single game last year; that led to the Skyhawks losing games they shouldn’t have and missing out on the RMAC tournament.
One way Adair is building the program she wants is by adding Kayla Stone as an assistant coach. Stone is a familiar face for Skyhawks fans since she finished her playing career last season for FLC. She was named Second Team All-RMAC last year and posted a .438 batting average, the second-highest in FLC history.
Adair said Stone has done a great job teaching her replacement, sophomore Natalie Rodman, at second base the small things players don’t think about unless they’ve experienced them like Stone.
One of the biggest returners for the Skyhawks is senior pitcher Amiee Shanks. She received the Rawlings Gold Glove Award from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association last season and was the first Skyhawks and RMAC player to receive the award.
Shanks was on the RMAC Gold Glove team and the RMAC All-Academic First Team. Shanks also tied for the second-most complete games in all of NCAA Division II through the end of the regular season with 24.
“She's a little bit different than anything else in the RMAC,” Adair said about Shanks. “She does a lot of down (pitches), which you mostly see a lot of pitchers that throw up and away. She's one of maybe three arms in the RMAC that throw down hard. I feel comfortable saying that because it's not a secret anymore. She's a senior; you know it's coming. So, she's a little bit different and she gets more balls hit back at her than anyone I've ever seen.”
Another key returner is senior infielder Alex Tenorio. She had the second-best batting average last season for FLC, posting a mark of .350. Adair said she’s been a staple since her freshman year and is a quiet leader for the team. So when Tenorio does talk, her teammates listen. Tenorio has made a few tweaks to her batting to try and get back to her .377 batting average in her sophomore year in 2023.
Sophomore outfielder Mykel Torres is a player Adair thinks can break out in 2025. Torres didn’t start seeing the field until halfway through last year but did well when she did and she’s a real hard worker. Torres has a lot of speed to get on base.
Redshirt freshman Makenna Milliman will make her Skyhawks debut after redshirting last year with an ACL injury. Milliman has a huge bat and a great arm, according to Adair.
Adair has eight true freshmen on the roster. Alyssa Fockler, a catcher from Flagstaff, Arizona, is a unique talent as a lefty catcher. Adair said she’s super calm, athletic and works hard; Adair thinks she could have an immediate impact.
Chloe Padilla comes in as a freshman pitcher from Fruita. Adair said she has a lot of spin on her pitches. Padilla grew up watching Adair play at Colorado Mesa. Another promising freshman is Addison Gavigan from Gilbert, Arizona. Adair thinks she was under-recruited and could surprise some people.
“I like players that do the intangibles,” Adair said. “I look a lot at families. I have eight freshmen who I love every single one of their families. That's really important when you're recruiting is to get to know the families. They're trusting you with their daughter. Overall, how they play the game. Do they hustle? Do they sprint to their positions? Do they run a ball out that they popped up to even a pitcher … obviously their talent level matters, but if they're just the most talented person in the world and they're not the best person, I probably don't want you.”
The Skyhawks were picked to finish eighth out of 12 teams in the RMAC preseason poll. Adair said she’s not concerned with the preseason rankings and takes them with a grain of salt. She emphasized with her players that it’s people’s opinions and they don’t know what FLC has brought in.
FLC opens up its season in Irvine, California, in the Concordia Kickoff Classic on Friday. Adair is excited to play some tough competition out there, which will get them ready for RMAC play. No matter what happens in California, Adair has some clear goals for her squad.
“A .500 season is always the goal and never lose a series; that’s an attainable goal for us,” Adair said. “At the worst split a series. I would like to win them all, but you have to know every weekend is not going to be perfect as much as you want it to be. We want to make the RMAC tournament. I tell the girls all the time, just to kind of put it in their head, that it's not only possible to make the RMAC tournament, I want to win the thing.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
