RUSSELLVILLE — The rhythm starts before her swing.
As the chorus of her walkup song, "Walk" by Hulvey, pulses through the speaker, Ouachita junior Emily Reed routinely takes her time for a mental reset before calmly stepping into the batter's box. It's become the soundtrack to one of the most dominant stretches in program history.
"Get back to the business," the lyrics echo through Langston Field.
Reed was recognized as the Great American Conference Player of the Week, a fitting honor for a scorching slugger who's emerged as one of the most dangerous hitters in America down the home stretch of the 2026 season. The Benton native has five homers in her last five games and ranks second in the league in home runs, while she also ranks third in slugging percentage (.743), and fourth with 44 RBI. The Ouachita softball team has reaped the benefits on a current four-game win streak, emerging victorious in eight of the last 10 games in April.
"It is just huge," Head Coach Jeff Jackson said of the impact of Reed's surging bat. "Even if things aren't going her way, the other team has to think about how to pitch to her or if they want to pitch to her. It affects our lineup in so many ways."
In the third inning of the series opener against Northwestern Oklahoma State, Reed pounced on the first pitch she saw and punched a home run over the right field wall. The solo shot tied Ouachita's single-season home run record at 13, a milestone that has since become a breakthrough. That aggressive approach is evident in her slightly open stance, with her hands loaded back ready to inflict damage. For Reed, it's become more of managing the mental side trying to slow the game down.
The Tigers dropped the opener to the Rangers, but Ouachita responded with authority in the first game of Friday's doubleheader. Reed stamped the 7-0 victory in the sixth inning. After working the count full, she unloaded on a pitch and pulverized a solo homer deep beyond the left-center field wall. The moment carried more than the distance, it carried emotion. Reed slammed the bat to the Earth, pumped her fist before rounding second, met Coach Jackson with a low five before stomping on top of home plate, officially setting a new program record with her 14th home run of her junior campaign.
The emotional release of tears filled her face as she reflected on all the hard work over the course of the school year. That work continued to show in the series finale as Reed started to see a beachball thrown across the plate.
Reed wasted no time to deliver a major blow in the finale and launched a towering two-run homer to dead center in the first inning to give Ouachita an early lead it would never relinquish. She put the finishing touch in the fifth, attacked another first pitch over the heart of the plate and crushed it even further beyond center field as the softball rolled across the street onto the football practice field. With an emphatic bat toss toward the dugout, she circled the bases for her second homer of the game, her fourth of the series, and her 16th of the season.
"I don't think there's a better hitter in the conference," Coach Jackson said.
Reed's pair of two-run homers were more than enough run support for sophomore pitcher Catie Amador, who ultimately delivered the sixth no-hitter in program history.
Reed's recent performance also earned her both a nomination and honorable mention on the Division II Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week press release. She capped her latest showcase with another solo shot in her final at-bat of Tuesday's win, increasing her season total to 17 and extending her own program record. As long as the music plays and the mindset stays positive, Reed intends to keep walking by faith right back into the batter's box, having already cemented her name in Ouachita's record books.
"God gave me this ability and He has a plan," Reed said. "No matter the win or loss in that at-bat, it's already been written. There is still more work to be done."
