The 2024 season marked the farewell for two softball players who are arguably the best in the history of their respective schools.
Pinckney’s CeCe Thorington and Fowlerville’s Tori Briggs are each on the All-Livingston County first team for the fourth time after adding more impressive numbers to their gaudy career totals.
Making first-team all-county four times is rare, but one player has an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Thorington and Briggs. Brighton shortstop Anna Minnick is the only freshman on the first team.
Tori Briggs
► School: Fowlerville
► Class: Senior
► Position: Pitcher
► Accomplishments: Briggs is a four-time first-team all-county selection who will continue her career at Central Michigan University. During her career, Briggs hit .534 with 217 hits, 50 doubles, 21 triples, 26 homers, 163 RBIs and 198 runs. As a pitcher this season, she led the county with a 2.14 earned run average, was second in wins with a 15-3 record and was third with 121 strikeouts.
Ava Bunting
► School: Howell
► Class: Senior
► Positions: Outfield
► Accomplishments: Bunting ranked sixth in the county and led Howell by 56 points with a .431 batting average. She drove in 20 runs, scored 40 runs and had 15 stolen bases. Bunting had six games with at least three hits.
Mackenzie Burns
► School: Pinckney
► Class: Junior
► Positions: Third base, catcher
► Accomplishments: Burns is a repeat first-team selection who led the county with 48 RBIs and 14 doubles while ranking second with seven homers. Her .454 batting average was fourth. In three seasons, Burns is hitting .442 with 136 hits, 33 doubles, 15 homers, 115 RBIs and 95 runs.
Olivia Forrest
► School: Hartland
► Position: Pitcher
► Accomplishments: Forrest took over as Hartland’s No. 1 pitcher this season and led the Eagles to the state quarterfinals, earning all-state honorable mention. She led the county in victories, going 17-11 with two saves. Her 2.77 ERA and 163 strikeouts ranked second.
Tommi Kleinschmidt
► School: Fowlerville
► Class: Junior
► Position: Outfield
► Accomplishments: Kleinschmidt ranked fifth in the county with a .447 batting average, tied for fifth with four homers, was fourth with 43 runs and tied for ninth with 30 RBIs. She also had 10 doubles, three triples and 13 stolen bases.
Sadie Malik
► School: Hartland
► Class: Junior
► Position: Catcher
► Accomplishments: Malik has provided leadership from behind the plate the last two years and been one of Hartland’s most potent hitters for three seasons. She ranked 10th in the county and third on the team with a .393 batting average, hitting 10 doubles and two homers while driving in 28 runs.
Kate McIntyre
► School: Hartland
► Class: Senior
► Position: First base
► Accomplishments: McIntyre is a two-time first-team Division 1 all-stater who will continue her career at Ave Maria University in Florida. She went 4-for-7 with a homer, two doubles and five RBIs during regionals, hitting a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning of the championship game. She battled .427 with six homers and 38 RBIs.
Violet McWhinnie
► School: Pinckney
► Class: Senior
► Position: First base
► Accomplishments: McWhinnie ranked third in the county with a .461 batting average and fourth with 35 RBIs. She hit three home runs, two of which came during a doubleheader sweep of Brighton in which she went 7-for-7. She will play at Grand Rapids Community College.
Anna Minnick
► School: Brighton
► Class: Freshman
► Position: Shortstop
► Accomplishments: Minnick is a key reason why Brighton appears to have a bright future in softball. She led the Bulldogs this season with a .353 batting average, 33 RBIs and 35 runs. She cracked the county top 10 with 11 doubles and 17 stolen bases.
Skylar Spisz
► School: Hartland
► Class: Junior
► Position: Outfield
► Accomplishments: A third-year starter, Spisz received all-state honorable mention. Hartland’s lead-off hitter ranked ninth in the county with a .415 batting average, third with six triples and fifth with 42 runs. She also had eight doubles and 15 stolen bases.
CeCe Thorington
► School: Pinckney
► Class: Senior
► Position: Outfield
► Accomplishments: Thorington will go down as the best player to come out of Pinckney after making the Division 2 all-state team twice and earning a scholarship to the University of Michigan. She set a state record with 130 consecutive stolen bases without being caught and ranks 10th in MHSAA records with 187 career steals. She led the county in batting each of the past two seasons, hitting .589 as a junior and .558 as a senior.
SECOND TEAM
P, Emma Arnold, Pinckney, Sr.
P, Belle Sixbery, Brighton, Sr.
C, Avery Borg, Fowlerville, Fr.
IF, Ava Lavery, Howell, Sr.
IF, Jaylen Nokovich, Hartland, Sr.
IF, Mallory Dickey, Pinckney, Sr.
IF, Leighton Scott, Howell, Soph.
OF, Melanie Buzo, Brighton, Sr.
OF, Addison Wroblewski, Pinckney, Fr.
OF, Reese Dunny, Hartland, Soph.
U, Angelle Haan, Fowlerville, Sr.
HONORABLE MENTION
Brighton: Lauren Damron (Soph.), Maggie McKaig (Sr.). Fowlerville: Kiely Davis (Soph.), McKenna Maybee (Soph.), Tara Peterson (Sr.). Hartland: Kaitlyn Brennan (Fr.), Alayna Gardner (Jr.).Howell: Lara Anderson (Soph.), Jada Challiss (Sr.), Easton Lavery (Fr.). Pinckney: Erin Closser (Sr.), Abby Rauser (Sr.).
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
Most Popular
Comments / 0