Colony grad helps her college softball squad advance to college national tourney

PALMER — Tesa Finley expected to spend her first season of college softball part of a program rebuilding. Things didn’t go exactly as predicted and the 2017 graduate of Colony High School was treated to a wild ride to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Softball Championships.

Finley, a freshman catcher, helped her North Dakota State College of Science squad finish third in the national championships last week in Rochester, Minnesota.

“I’m very pleased with my freshman year,” Finley said earlier this week. “We exceeded expectations.”

Finley, working in a two-player rotation at catcher, appeared in 23 games as a freshman, and helped her program take a leap from a four-win season in 2016-17 to 26 victories in 2017-18. Finley said the idea of helping rebuild a program attracted her to NDSCS.

“I wanted to be part of it,” Finley said.

After opening the national tournament with a 4-2 loss to Brookdale Community College, the Wildcats pieced together three straight wins by a combined score of 18-3. Finley said rebounding with an 11-3 victory over Suffolk CC gave her team confidence.

“We felt like we had a reason to be there,” Finley said.

The Wildcats, the sixth seed entering the tourney, were 2-0 with Finley behind the plate.

Finley said it felt amazing to step onto the diamond to play in a collegiate national championship tournament.

“I felt like the top dog honestly,” Finley said with a laugh. “Seventy-nine teams were not able to go to nationals.”

Finley said the Wildcats survived a rough start to the season. They lost five straight, but turned around to win six of their next seven. The success continued and the Wildcats finished second in their conference and used an undefeated mark in the region tournament to advance to nationals.

Finley said Wildcats head coach Mike Oehlke recruited aggressively prior to the season. Once of his targets was Finley, a Colony Knights standout.

“He kept calling and calling,” Finley said.

Finley visited the campus last spring and signed with the school. In her 23 games, Finley collected 14 hit, scored six runs, cracked a home run and drove in five. Behind the plate as one of her team’s two rotating catchers, Oehlke expected her to take control on the field.

“He expects me to be a leader,” Finley said.

Finley said she appreciated that responsibility as a freshman.

Next season, Finley expects to be the veteran catcher in the rotation. Finley said she’s already looking forward to her sophomore season.

Finley, part of a softball family, grew up around the game. Her older sister Kylie earned a full-ride college scholarship and pitched for Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. Her younger sister Danyel plays at Colony High. Her mom Tamara is the head coach of the Colony softball program.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.