By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph Mustangs are known for doing different theme nights throughout the summer during home games at Phil Welch Stadium.
This summer, the Mustangs are making history with one of their theme nights, as Thursday, June 9 will be 'Women in Sports Night' when the Mustangs face the Wellington Heat at 7 p.m.
Manager Johnny Coy will be assisted in coaching that night by a pair of Missouri Western softball coaches - pitching coach Lexi Kinnaird and grad assistant coach Sammey Bunch. Together, they will be the first women to ever coach in a Mustangs game.
"To be able to work with (Sammey) this past year, she's extremely knowledgeable about the game," Kinnaird said. "So, it'll be cool to see her in this kind of setting and how she'll kind of branch out."
Mustangs general manager and owner Ky Turner, who usually comes up with these different theme nights along with his staff, says Women in Sports Night was all coach Coy's idea.
"I give all kudos to Johnny on this idea," Turner said. "I think he was watching MLB and they were talking about women in sports and in MLB and the growth of women in the game and the importance of that, and we 100 percent agree with that. You saw Regan Nash play here."
Nash, a Camden Point native, North Platte alum and all-SEC softball player at Mizzou, was the first woman to play in a Mustangs uniform and play in the MINK League in the summer of 2018.
Kinnaird says Coy reached out to her and Bunch via Instagram message and asked if they'd like to be a part of Women in Sports Night. The two agreed, not knowing just how popular and exciting this would become.
"Sammey and I both said yes," Kinnaird said. "From there, it kind of blew up into this Women in Sports Night, which I think is awesome. I just don't think I was fully anticipating it to be to the extent that it is, I guess."
Kinnaird coaches pitchers for Missouri Western, where she just wrapped up her third season on staff. While she doesn't yet know what her exact in-game role will be Thursday, Kinnaird knows it's no small task to help coach a team that's won seven MINK League titles and is going for their third in a row.
"They're really trying to win a third (straight) championship," Kinnaird said. "So, this isn't just like a show up and joke around and play baseball. This is like, they're still playing to win. So, for us to go there and be able to have success while we're there would be super awesome."
Missouri Western has employed numerous female assistant and grad assistant coaches in recent years, and currently employs female head coaches in lacrosse, volleyball and women's basketball.
Kinnaird says being in an athletic department that's so supportive of women working in sports has helped prepare her for moments like these.
"To be a female in a place where people support females so much has been extremely empowering," she said. "It just makes you feel like you can go and do things like coach a baseball team or be a coach eventually in your career. So, it's been great."
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