NATCHEZ — Two Miss-Lou softball players signed their letters of intent to play softball at community colleges in 2016.

Trinity’s Kayla Gilmore and Vidalia’s Katelin Temple signed to play for Holmes Community College and Bossier Parish Community College, respectively.

Given the opportunity to continue her athletic career at the next level, Gilmore’s eyes filled with tears as she celebrated with friends and family Wednesday afternoon.

“I’ve been playing softball since I was a little girl, and I always wanted to play college ball,” said Gilmore, minutes after posing with her parents and Trinity faculty. “To have this moment, it means a lot.”

After emailing a list of community colleges, Gilmore received a reply from Holmes Community College to come and attend a camp. It didn’t take Gilmore long to realize this is where she wanted to further her career.

“I had a lunch with the softball team, and had a practice,” Gilmore said. “The coach told me that day that he wanted to give me a scholarship that day, and that was it. When they wanted me to interact with the team, that was really important to me.”

Days before Gilmore signed, Temple was in Bossier Parish with eight other signees, getting to sign to play with her parents in attendance.

“I thought it was really cool,” Temple said. “(Coach Ashley Grisham) seemed like a really fun coach but was determined to work hard.”

Temple said she wanted to attend a smaller college, so going to play for a community college worked out perfectly for her.

“When I saw the size of the school and saw how sweet the girls were, I immediately thought, ‘This works,’” Temple said.

Gilmore is the daughter of Kimberly Gilmore and Shawn Thompson, while Temple is the daughter of Michelle and Chris Temple.