Lady Blues softball brings home all-district awards News Staff Sat, 05/18/2024 - 2:36 pm
- (ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The Lady Blues hoist the district championship trophy in the air after defeating Mineral Wells 13-7 to win first place in the district standings. The team finished with a 6-2 district record to earn the title.
- (ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The Lady Blues softball team played a successful season and earned a multitude of district awards for their performances. Graham had the Coaching Staff of the Year, District MVP, Defensive MVP, Pitcher of the Year and Utility Player of the Year, as well as many First Team and Second Team All-District honors.
TC Gordon sports@grahamleader.com
After the Graham Lady Blues dominated their opponent to claim a bi-district championship this season, they moved to the area round where their season came to an unfortunate end.
Although the season ended earlier than the team would have liked, the Lady Blues put up yet another successful year. Graham’s softball girls finished first place in District 6-4A with a 6-2 record, which set up their bi-district match-up with Lubbock Estacado. In two games, the Lady Blues outscored the Lady Mats 31-7 to earn the golden glove trophy.
Graham fought hard in the best-of-three series against Burkburnett but ultimately saw the season come to a close. However, the Lady Blues have earned a number of district awards for their performances throughout the district schedule.
Beginning with the people in charge, Graham’s coaching staff was named Coaching Staff of the Year. The staff led the team to a 24-10 overall record and another regular season championship.
Graham catcher Meagan Brooks brought home the District MVP award. The senior tied for the lead or led the team outright in multiple hitting categories which included hits, triples, home runs, RBIs and runs scored. She also had a near perfect fielding percentage and only committed one error all season.
Center fielder Paris Tate earned District Defensive MVP for her work at one of the more crucial positions on the field. She had a .921 fielding percentage and regularly made impressive defensive plays in the outfield.
In the pitcher’s circle, Reese Calhoun took the Pitcher of the Year award. She threw 153 innings on the year, finished with a 17-5 record and had an ERA of 2.60 while striking out 237 hitters.
Zoey Harrell earned another superlative award as she was named Utility Player of the Year. The junior played multiple positions throughout the season and often played different positions in the same game. She pitched, played infield and outfield while putting up stellar numbers at each position.
In addition to the major awards, the Lady Blues had several players named to all-district teams. On the First Team All-District, infielders Olga Morales and Emily Lawson earned recognitions, as well as outfielder Mayci Ryans.
Morales and Lawson primarily covered the left side of the infield at shortstop and third base, respectively, while Ryans handled duties in left field.
Graham had two players selected to the Second Team All-District in Peyton Dobbs and Tiffany Cotter. Dobbs and Cotter mainly spent their time at first base and second base, respectively.
While the work on the field is important, athletes are still expected to perform in the classroom, as well. The Lady Blues had many players named to the Academic All-District team. Calhoun, Brooks, Dobbs, Cotter, Lawson, Briley Randall, Gabriella Hernandez, Lauren De La Cruz, Kathryn Hughes, Larissa Warren, Diana Simental and McKaylee Metcalf were all recognized as Academic All-District performers.
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