Abby Donnell Bates holds dozens of Rider softball school records during a prolific high school career that is one of the most successful stretches in the program’s history.

After that illustrious stint with the Lady Raiders and two seasons playing at Texas A&M, Donnell Bates distanced herself from the game for a couple years.

But she’s back in the sport she loves now after being approved as Rider’s head softball coach at Monday night’s Wichita Falls ISD board meeting.  

“I’m looking forward to coaching them and getting them to the next level,” Donnell Bates said. “I feel like I bring experience and knowledge from college. And I played a lot of different positions. I pitched, played the infield and outfield and even was a catcher when I was younger.”  

Donnell Bates becomes Rider’s third head coach in the past three seasons – and technically fourth if you include interim coach Linda Graves. Graves ran the program for the duration of the 2017 season, finishing with a 5-13 record and a sixth-place finish in District 5-5A.  

After Alisha Crouch stepped aside coaching after the 2016 season, Childress coach Eric Rhodes was hired to run the program in 2017, but he was replaced shortly before the season by Graves, who’d been an assistant.

“Our entire coaching staff is excited about coach Bates returning to her alma mater to lead the softball program,” Rider athletic campus coordinator Marc Bindel said. “She will bring her experience and knowledge to our program. I know she is eager to get to work and return the program to the success she experienced under coach Crouch.”

Getting into coaching was something Donnell Bates wanted to do during an illustrious high school career that included 116 victories, two district titles and three all-state selections.

But Donnell Bates – who is the Rider’s all-time leader in most hitting and pitching categories – including batting average (.573), runs (214), wins (55) and no-hitters (12) – changed her mind once in college.

“I grew up wanting to be a coach and then I went to college and didn’t want to coach anymore,” said Donnell Bates, whose Texas A&M career was derailed by an arm injury. “I came back home and taught first grade my first year back (at Zundy) and realized I wanted to get back into it.”

Donnell Bates, who married former Rider baseball standout Ben Bates, will also be a volleyball assistant and will teach at McNiel Junior High. The 2017 Texas A&M graduate is looking forward to getting the offseason started.

“We’re going to focus on playing in the field and doing different drills, really focusing on fielding and hitting,” Donnell Bates said. “Playing softball is about developing skills.”

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ABBY DONNELL RIDER RECORDS 

CAREER (18)

Average – .573

At-bats – 475

Hits – 272

Runs – 214

Triples – 48

Homers – 14

RBIs – 138

Stolen bases – 108

Extra-base hits – 126

Slugging percentage – .922

Games pitched – 75

Wins – 55

Innings pitched – 426

Strikeouts – 804

ERA – 1.35 (tied with Sammy Hislop)

Shutouts – 32

Complete games – 70

No-hitters – 12

SINGLE SEASON (12)

Average – .590 (2012)

At-bats – 134 (2011)

Hits – 75 (2010, 2011)

Runs – 69 (2011)

Triples – 15 (2010)

Homers – 8 (2010)

RBIs – 48 (2010, tied with Karly Gibson)

Stolen bases – 37 (2010)

Extra-base hits – 31 (2010)

Slugging percentage – 1.046 (2010)  

Hitting streak – 18 games (2012)

Outfield assists – 4 (2013)

SINGLE GAME (5)

Hits – 5 (multiple times)

Runs – 5 (2011)

Triples – 2 (multiple times)  

Total bases – 11 (2010)

Strikeouts – 18 (2013)