Meet the Gainesville Sun's All-Area Small School Softball Teams, Player of the Year

In 2021, Clint Anderson and the Trenton coaching staff noticed an infielder on the Tigers JV squad.

The sixth-grader immediately caught the attention of the staff, who brought her up to varsity.

Her name was Addison Allaire, and she helped lead THS to a state title that season at second base.

The next season, Allaire moved to the circle and slowly improved until the floodgates finally opened this season.

She was top three in Class 1A in strikeouts, wins and ERA. She showed her versatility at the plate as well with 7 home runs and 33 RBIs, both top eight in 1A.

The Tigers also saw massive success on the field, losing just twice in the regular season and storming into the 1A state semifinals.

It survived a upset from Holmes County on a walk-off.

In the state final, it faced local foe Branford. Just 30 miles separate the two schools, and for much of the game, the Bucs seemed well positioned.

But Trenton scored four runs in the seventh inning to send the game into extras and ultimately won 6-5 in eight innings.

Now, it's time to reward the Tigers best player.

Allaire is the Sun's All-Gainesville Area Small School Player of the Year.

She has interest from multiple colleges, including Tim Walton and UF, and that only expects to increase as Allaire's play improves over the next three years.

Below is the full Small School Softball team , consisting of 22 athletes from eight local schools.

Congrats to all, and be on the lookout in the coming days for the rest of the spring 2024 All-Area teams !

Gainesville Sun All-Area Small School Softball First Team

Infield : Alexsandra Faught, Bell, 8 ^th Grade – 0.516 BA (6 ^th in 1A), 0.632 OBP (4 ^th in 1A), 32 Rs (21 ^st in 1A)

Infield : Cloey Criggall, Branford, Junior – 4 HRs (14 ^th in 1A), 35 Rs (11 ^th in 1A), 31 SBs (48 ^th in FL, 5 ^th in 1A)

Infield : Hollie Pabst, Newberry, Senior – 0.574 BA (1 ^st in 1A), 0.649 OBP (2 ^nd in 1A), 33 RBIs (10 ^th in 1A), 0.885 SLG (3 ^rd in 1A), 4 HRs (24 ^th in 1A), 26 Rs (48 ^th in 1A)

Infield : Madyson Sikes, Branford, Senior – 4 HRs (15 ^th in 1A), 24 RBIs (36 ^th in 1A), 19 Rs

Outfield : Emma Revels, Lafayette, Senior – 7 HRs (63 ^rd in FL, 4 ^th in 1A), 20 RBIs, 0.684 SLG (31 ^st in 1A)

Outfield : Gracie Clemons, Fort White, Senior – 0.508 SLG, 0.344 BA, 0.406 OBP

Outfield : Jesse Frierson, Branford, Junior – 10 HRs (15 ^th in FL, 1 ^st in 1A), 34 Rs (15 ^th in 1A), 34 RBIs (4 ^th in 1A), 0.871 SLG (4 ^th in 1A), 0.455 BA (23 ^rd in 1A), 17 SBs (31 ^st in 1A)

Catcher : Morgan Brennan, Branford, Junior – 25 RBIs (30 ^th in 1A), 0.370 BA, 0.464 OBP

Utility : Neveah Hayes, Williston, Senior – 1.84 ERA (11 ^th in 1A), 4 HRs (19 ^th in 1A), 36 RBIs (45 ^th in FL, 2 ^nd in 1A), 7 wins (18 ^th in 1A), 54 Ks (38 ^th in 1A), 0.483 BA (13 ^th in 1A)

Pitcher : Addison Allaire, Trenton, Freshman – 213 Ks (26 ^th in FL, 2 ^nd in 1A), 0.99 ERA (33 ^rd in FL, 2 ^nd in 1A), 7 HRs (2 ^nd in 1A), 33 RBIs (8 ^th in 1A), 13 wins (48 ^th in FL, 3 ^rd in 1A)

Pitcher : Kadence Compton, Fort White, Junior – 190 Ks (40 ^th in FL, 3 ^rd in 1A), 0.94 ERA (28 ^th in FL, 1 ^st in 1A), 13 wins (54 ^th in FL, 5 ^th in 1A), 0.407 BA (53 ^rd in 1A), 22 RBIs (53 ^rd in 1A)

Gainesville Sun All-Area Small School Softball Second Team

Infield : Evie Meeks, Chiefland, Freshman – 0.421 BA (39 ^th in 1A), 4 HRs (22 ^nd in 1A), 24 RBIs (38 ^th in 1A), 0.697 SLG (27 ^th in 1A)

Infield : Jayla Coleman, Williston, 7 ^th Grade – 34 SBs (31 ^st in FL, 4 ^th in 1A), 37 Rs (10 ^th in 1A), 0.322 BA

Infield : Madisyn Gillins, Hawthorne, Junior – 0.480 BA (16 ^th in 1A), 0.567 OBP (18 ^th in 1A), 0.920 SLG (2 ^nd in 1A)

Infield : Mallory Blue, Branford, Sophomore – 5 HRs (10 ^th in 1A), 42 Ks (44 ^th in 1A), 2.16 ERA (13 ^th in 1A), 25 RBIs (31 ^st in 1A)

Outfield : Brandy Dees, Trenton, Senior – 0.353 BA, 1 HR, 0.470 OBP, 16 RBIs

Outfield : Malana Kennard, Newberry, Senior – 41 Rs (38 ^th in FL, 3 ^rd in 1A), 28 SBs (8 ^th in 1A), 0.495 OBP (64 ^th in 1A)

Outfield : Presley Atkins, Trenton, Sophomore – 30 Rs (30 ^th in 1A), 20 SBs (18 ^th in 1A)

Catcher : Chloe Jones, Newberry, Freshman – 0.575 OBP (17 ^th in 1A), 24 RBIs (43 ^rd in 1A), 14 SBs (48 ^th in 1A), 0.612 SLG (54 ^th in 1A)

Utility : Mackenzie Fisher, Chiefland, Freshman – 102 Ks (12 ^th in 1A), 2.51 ERA (17 ^th in 1A), 0.429 BA (31 ^st in 1A). 0.686 SLG (30 ^th in 1A)

Pitcher : Emma Brideson, Trenton, Junior – 1.70 ERA (8 ^th in 1A), 7 wins (17 ^th in 1A), 58 Ks (34 ^th in 1A)

Pitcher : Laila Arnold, Branford, Junior – 16 wins (20 ^th in FL, 1 ^st in 1A), 172 Ks (50 ^th in FL, 6 ^th in 1A), 1.60 ERA (7 ^th in 1A)

Coach of the Year: Clint Anderson, Trenton

In his third year at Trenton, Anderson finally reached the mountaintop that his predecessor Todd Bryant got to twice. Anderson led the Tigers to the 1A state championship, the program's third since 2019. It completed a remarkable two year turnaround from 10-12 in 2022 to 23-2 this season and a dramatic 4-0 seventh inning comeback vs Branford in the state title game to win 6-5.

Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Meet the Gainesville Sun's All-Area Small School Softball Teams, Player of the Year