WEATHERFORD —  

Four playoff teams out of a possible six is a pretty good hit rate, but the postseason pace is more the norm than the exception for public school softball teams in Parker County. Three of the four won outright district titles, with two of those putting together a perfect district season.

While the wealth of talent bodes well for earning a second season, it often plays havoc when trying to select more-than-worthy recipients for the annual All-Parker County (APC) softball roster, especially for the superlatives list.

With two premier area senior pitchers mowing down opposing hitters from the first scrimmage games of mid-February through the depths of bracket play late in May, the upside of the talent bank from which to choose is countered with a good deal of hand-wringing. Thank goodness for stats. When one has observed a neck-and-neck level of performance throughout a season, numbers can come in handy as a justifying tie breaker.

As dominant as Baylor-bound Brock grad Linsey Hays was on the mound in 2011, her efficiency as the Lady Eagles lead-off batter could have been deployed anywhere in the top five spots of the order with overwhelming confidence. Hays, while ringing up batters with more than 280 strikeouts on the year, humbled opposing pitchers with a .645 batting average, had 58 runs batted in and powered the Lady Eagles offense with 19 home runs. Hays exits her high school career as Parker County’s Most Valuable Player.

Weatherford’s Jordan Wallace, a welcome site in the circle for Lady Roos fans the past four years, will soon pack her bags, and glove, and motor to the land of parishes and crawfish, as she will don the uniform of the Ragin’ Cajuns at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. The senior receives the hands-down nod as the APC Pitcher of the Year.

Wallace windmilled her way to well more than 300 K’s through the year, hurling nine shutouts in 14 district contests. No slouch in the batter’s box, the clean-up hitter produced key hits time and again for Weatherford, including the memorable sixth-inning grand slam homer against Odessa in the Class 5A, Region I Bi-district match in Abilene, propelling the Lady Roos to the Area round.

Wallace’s battery-mate and signal caller Lauren Pohl received the top catcher’s award for her duties as the defensive quarterback for Weatherford, and her offensive acumen, near the top of the batting order, for getting on base with regularity.

 Aledo seniors Carolyn Clayton and Shelby Stockard led a young group of Ladycats underclassmen to the District 5-4A softball title and are appropriately noted, named the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, on the APC squad.

With catcher Stockard’s near-perfect fielding percentage (.991) and proficiency in discouraging base stealers (76 percent thrown out), she is a good fit as the county’s top defender. Clayton’s propensity for hitting with power (12 doubles, five triples, seven home runs), with a .477 batting average led the run production for Aledo.

In a case where the numbers produced a virtual dead heat, accolades should be shared, and are, for the Newcomers of the Year. In Class 2A, Millsap’s Maddie Edwards and Brock’s Haley Hardison, freshmen, both hit at a .545 clip and had RBI counts in the forties. 

The freshman class of the 2011 APC squad is notable, with 10 earning spots on the rolls, including Aledo’s Tori Gore, who shared time in the circle with returning pitcher and First Teamer Kaci Brann. Add to the count a half dozen sophomores and the future looks bright for local teams.

Leading a half dozen freshmen, a sophomore and just three  seniors to a district title, Jeff Lemons and his Aledo assistants received the nod as the top coaching staff for 2011.

Weatherford placed nine on the APC list, including three underclassmen who will return to next year’s Lady Roos squad.  With six Weatherford seniors making the roster, head coach Ty Comstock will look to incoming underclassmen to shore up the lineup in 2012.

2011 All-Parker County Softball Teams

Superlatives

Most Valuable Player

Linsey Hays         Brock         Senior   

Pitcher of the Year

Jordan Wallace       Weatherford       Senior

Catcher of the Year

Lauren Pohl         Weatherford         Senior

Defensive Player of the Year

Shelby Stockard        Aledo        Senior   

Offensive Player of the Year

Carolyn Clayton        Aledo        Senior  

Co-Newcomers of the Year 

Maddie Edwards        Millsap        Freshman

Haley Hardison           Brock         Freshman 

Coaching Staff of the Year     

Aledo          Head Coach — Jeff Lemons

First Team

Makayla Baeza         Weatherford        Senior

Alicia (Will) Rich     Weatherford        Junior

Kelsey Horton           Weatherford     Sophomore

Kacie Brann                  Aledo               Junior

McKalee Rouse             Aledo               Junior

Megan Mason               Aledo             Freshman

Taylor Phillips           Springtown          Junior

Paige Proctor                Brock            Freshman    

Rylee White                  Brock               Junior  

Sierra Potts                   Brock              Junior

Katelyn Bailey            Millsap              Senior    

Tiffany Brown            Millsap              Senior   

Second Team

Haleigh Lichti         Weatherford        Senior

Alison Gillard         Weatherford        Junior

Jessi Andersen            Millsap            Senior   

Hannah Hendrick        Peaster            Junior

Sarah Roberts               Brock            Junior

Morgan Ashmore         Brock         Sophomore

Kristin Dorsey             Brock             Junior 

Jessica Forrester         Peaster        Sophomore

Ciandra Seabourn    Springtown    Sophomore

Haylee Bowden           Aledo          Freshman

Ally Gabbert               Aledo           Freshman

Breann Jarvis         Springtown         Senior

Honorable Mention

Ashlyn Wren                Weatherford      Senior 

Chandler Spooner        Weatherford      Senior

Tori Gore                          Aledo         Freshman

Lauren Durham                Aledo            Senior

Kori Kizer                        Aledo         Freshman

Lyndsey Cottongame    Springtown   Sophomore

Courtney Humphries     Springtown   Sophomore

Kennedy Alexander          Brock         Freshman

Sierra Bradshaw                Brock        Freshman

Brooklyn Bruton              Millsap          Junior