If Bernard Malamud's "The Natural" – which inspired the 1984 Robert Redford film of the same name – was ever adapted for Ouachita's softball team, chances are the role of Roy Hobbs would be filled by Kristen Rigsbee Hollar. The key difference? Hobbs' two-way excellence can only be found on the page and screen. Rigsbee Hollar's feats played out in real life.
An alum of Frisco High School in Frisco, Texas, Rigsbee Hollar debuted with the Tigers in the spring of 2008 as a freshman pitcher and utility player. Straight out of the gate, she led the Tigers in batting average (.384), RBIs (35), wins (10) and innings pitched (108.1). She also hit 12 home runs, which served as a new team record. In doing so, the Texan became the first player in program history to receive the Gulf South Conference-West Freshman of the Year Award, collecting First Team All-GSC-West and Second Team NFCA Division II All-South Region honors as well.
In 2009, Rigsbee Hollar repeated as the Tigers' batting champion (.372 average) and home run queen (seven). Holding the top fielding percentage (.990) among Ouachita players with at least 30 opportunities, she wrote new school pitching records for single-season ERA (1.99), strikeouts (160) and walks plus hits per inning pitched (1.09) while tying Katie Dedas' benchmark for shutouts in one campaign (four). Rigsbee Hollar made the All-GSC-West First Team again as the Tigers finished third in their division, earning their first conference tournament bid since joining the GSC in 2003.
The 2010 season proved even more successful for Ouachita, with the team reaching an all-time high of 36 victories. Rigsbee Hollar continued her upward trajectory, too, setting new career bests for batting average (.390) and on-base plus slugging percentage (1.120). She, Sarah Bell and Haley Chambers hit 13 homers each, breaking the 2008 record and establishing a new program high mark that still stands today. In the circle, Rigsbee Hollar set other current Tiger records for wins (19), strikeouts (205) and shutouts (seven). Facing Missouri Southern in a neutral site game in Van Buren, Arkansas, on March 24, 2010, the junior recorded the first no-hitter in Ouachita history. During that outing, she retired the final 17 batters she faced and struck out eight in total. At the end of the campaign, Rigsbee Hollar was rewarded with her third consecutive First Team All-GSC-West nod and spots on the NFCA Division II All-South Second Team and Daktronics All-South Region Softball Second Team.
During her senior year, Rigsbee Hollar became the first and only student-athlete in team history to be named First Team All-GSC-West four times. Like Hobbs, her dominance is cemented on the written page, though not in the form of a novel. Instead, Rigsbee Hollar's story is solidified through Ouachita's record book, where she tops career leaderboards for batting average (.369), on-base percentage (.441), slugging percentage (.616), runs scored (143), home runs (37), wins (51), ERA (2.61), pitching strikeouts (554), innings pitched (596), WHIP (1.19), complete games (71) and shutouts (16).
2025-26 TIGER TIDBITS
