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HIGh school softball

All-County Softball: Lafferty, Pearson headline team

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Updated 12:27 PM Monday, June 22, 2009

Position Player  of the Year

Emily Lafferty, Lakota East

The Thunderhawks’ senior catcher earned first-team Division I All-Ohio and Greater Miami Conference honors for the second year in a row. Also named the GMC Player of the Year, Lafferty hit .395 while leading the county in home runs (six), walks (21) and on-base percentage (.535). She had 26 RBIs and 26 runs scored. Lafferty will continue her career in college at George Mason.

Pitcher of the Year

Sara Pearson, Edgewood

Still just a sophomore, Pearson led the county with 278 strikeouts while earning Fort Ancient Valley Conference Scarlet Division co-Player of the Year honors for the second year in a row. Pearson went 16-6 while posting a 0.99 ERA. She also was a weapon at the plate, batting .329 with five doubles, five home runs and 11 stolen bases.

Coach of the Year

Paul Fernandez Ross

The Hall of Famer finally hoisted the Ohio Division II championship trophy on his fifth trip to the state tournament. The state title capped a 26-7 season that saw Fernandez lead the Rams to the program’s 23rd consecutive league championship and 14th district title in the last 22 years. Fernandez is 445-82 in 18 seasons.

Alex Caudill Lakota West,  So. Pitcher

Caudill went 18-3 with a 1.30 ERA to earn first-team All-Greater Miami Conference accolades. She struck out 207 batters in 162 innings.

Brittany Fernandez Ross, Jr., Pitcher

Her 21-5 record led all county pitchers in wins, including the biggest one of all in the Division II state championship game. Fernandez struck out 200 batters in 174 innings and earned first-team All-Fort Ancient Valley Conference Scarlet Division honors. She also batted .333 with nine doubles, three triples and 22 RBIs.

Jaisa Fox Fairfield, Jr., Pitcher

Voted first-team All-Greater Miami Conference for the third year in a row, Fox went 14-12 for the Indians. She struck out 225 batters in 185 1/3 innings and also batted .337 with eight doubles.

Hannah Kendrick Madison, Jr., Pitcher

A first-team Division III All-Ohio selection, Kendrick went 14-3 with an 0.82 ERA for the Mohawks. She also was voted first-team All-Southwestern Buckeye League Buckeye Division and was named the league’s pitcher of the year. Kendrick struck out 195 batters in 111 innings. She also hit .390 with six doubles, three home runs and 27 RBIs.

Mackenzie Shouse Madison, Jr., Catcher

Shouse hit .443 with five doubles on the way to earning first-team All-Southwestern Buckeye League Buckeye Division accolades.

Nell Wilson  Ross, Sr., Catcher

A first-team All-Fort Ancient Valley Conference Scarlet Division pick, Wilson hit .417 with six doubles, three triples, four home runs and a county-best 37 RBIs.

Rachael Connaughton Ross, Sr., Infielder

Connaughton was voted first-team All-Fort Ancient Valley Conference Scarlet Division for the third year in a row and was named the league’s co-player of the year for a second straight year. She also was named first-team Division II All-Ohio after making second team in 2008. Connaughton hit .457 and led the county in runs (31) and doubles (six). She also had four triples and 22 RBIs.

Katie Fuller Hamilton,  Sr., Infielder

Fuller earned first-team All-Greater Miami Conference honors for the second year in a row. She hit .382 with eight doubles.

Kari Hogeback Lakota West,  Jr., Infielder

Hogeback hit .386 and was voted first-team All-Greater Miami Conference. She also had 10 doubles and 22 RBIs.

Whitney Mueller Badin, Sr., Infielder

Mueller batted .333 and was first-team All-Girls Greater Cincinnati League Grey Central Division for the second year in a row.

Chelsea Sherman, Lakota West,  Sr., Infielder

Sherman was voted first-team Division I All-Ohio with a .367 batting average. She also earned first-team All-Greater Miami Conference honors for the third year in a row. Sherman had six doubles, three triples and 21 RBIs.

Carley Wright Edgewood,  So., Infielder

Voted first-team All-Fort Ancient Valley Conference Scarlet Division for the second year in a row, Wright hit .333 with nine doubles.

Hillary Ballinger Lakota East,  Sr., Outfielder

A Division I All-Ohio honorable mention pick, Ballinger hit .390 and scored 28 runs. She also went 7-5 on the mound with 106 strikeouts in 76 innings to earn first-team All-Greater Miami Conference honors for the third consecutive year.

Kayla Harmon Edgewood,  Fr., Outfielder

The newcomer hit .485 for the second-highest average in the county. She had 23 RBIs, 25 runs scored and 15 stolen bases, which helped earn first-team All-Greater Miami Conference accolades.

Katie Young Madison, Sr., Outfielder

The first-team All-Southwestern Buckeye League Buckeye Division pick hit a county-best .500 with 30 runs scored. And no one in the county had more steals than the 22 bases Young swiped.

Second Team

P — Caitlyn Calhoun, Fr., Talawanda

P — Erin Pollock, Jr., Lakota East

P — Ashley Riffell, Jr., Hamilton

P — Kayla Wyrick, Sr., Middletown

C — Whitney Day, Sr., Cincinnati Christian

C — Ashlie Villarreal, Jr., Talawanda

IF — Lindsey Carman, Sr., New Miami

IF — Kelly Freels, Jr., Lakota West

IF — Marissa Gibbs, So., Monroe

IF — Brianna Lipscomb, So., Middletown

IF — Kaitlyn Strunk, Sr., Ross