Staff report

Senior catcher Maria Herron , who rewrote the record book at Russia High School in her softball career, was named the 2017 County Player of the Year in all-league voting by the coaches.

It’s the second year in a row for Herron to be named Player of the Year. She shared the honor last season with Houston’s Macey Stang.

“Maria is the kind of player that every coach dreams of having on his or her team,” said Russia coach Michelle Muhlenkamp. “Not only is she incredibly talented in the game of softball, she isa most humble person who always puts the team before herself. Never once did Maria ever mention to the team or myself about breaking school records because she was always 100 percent focused on the team goals. It’s hard to find gifted athletes like that these days.”

Herron broke 13 school records during her career, including most hits in a season and career, most runs scored in a season and career, most doubles in a season and career, most triples in a season and career, most home runs in a season and career, best batting average in a season and career, and most career RBIs.

“So many young girls in our community look up to Maria,” Muhlenkamp added. “She is a class act who demonstrates the true meaning of hard work, dedication, and passion for the sport. She will be greatly missed next year, but the Otterbein softball program will be thrilled to gain such a fantastic student-athlete like her.”

Herron recently signed to play at Otterbein.

This season, she led the Lady Raiders to the outright County title, a perfect 12-0 record in league play and a 20-7 overall mark. She hit .609, second-best in the area, had a team-high 16 doubles and four homers, tied for the team-high in triples with three and led the Lady Raiders in runs scored with 33 and RBIs with 41. And in 102 plate appearances this season, she struck out only twice. She wound uyp with 56 hits this season.

Following is the rest of the first-team selections:

Grace Saunders, junior, Russia — Saunders gave Russia the top two vote-getters after an excellent season that saw her go 15-9 on the mound and finish with a 1.73 earned run average in 83 innings, with 65 strikeouts. She also hit .382, drove in 29 and scored 25 runs.

Macey Richard, junior, Anna — Richard wound up fourth in the area in hitting this season with a .552 average. She had 37 hits, scored 34 runs and drove in 31 for the Lady Rockets, and also stole 19 bases. She was a second-team pick last season.

Jenna Jarrett, senior, Houston — Jarrett led the Lady Wildcats in hitting this season with a .461 average. She had 10 doubles, scored 28 runs and drove in 22.

Sarah Monnier, junior, Houston — Monnier joined her teammate on the first team after earning second-team honors last year as a sophomore. She hit .425 this season with a team-high 31 RBIs, and also scored 25 runs. Eight of her hits were doubles.

Megan Koppin, senior, Fort Loramie — Koppin is another player who moved up from All-County second team last year to first team this season. In addition to hitting .366, Koppin also did a lot of pitching for the Lady Redskins, with a team-high 73 innings worked. She scored 18 runs and drove in 13.

Abby Holthaus, junior, Fort Loramie — Holthaus wound up leading the Lady Redskins in hitting this season with a .462 average. Her 36 hits, 24 singles, 11 stolen bases and 12 doubles were all team-highs, and she also scored 22 runs and drove in 15 more.

Maddie Borchers, senior, Russia — The third player from the league champions to be voted to the first team, Borchers scored 12 runs and drove in 16, as well as going 11-5 on the mound. She led the team in innings pitched with 882/3, and finished with a 3.35 ERA and a team-high 74 strikeouts.

Olivia Place, sophomore, Anna — Place is the only sophomore to make the first team. An honorable mention selection last season, she finished the 2017 season with a .484 batting average and a team-high 11 doubles. She also scored 27 runs and drove in 23.

SECOND TEAM

Lexi Monnin, sophomore, Russia — Monnin leads a very young second team. She hit .366 for the County champs this season, with 34 hits, 32 of them singles. She coaxed a team-high 16 walks as well, and led the team in stolen bases with 16. She was second on the team in runs scored with 36 and drove in 14.

Camryn Hoehne, senior, Jackson Center — Hoehne closed out a brilliant high school career by making All-County. She hit .368 for the Lady Tigers this season, driving in a team-high 30 runs and also leading the team in doubles with 10, triples with four and homers with two.

Riley Osborn, junior, Anna — Osborn had an excellent season, hitting .462. She had 30 hits on the year, scored 24 runs and drove in 28. She was honorable mention last season.

Elaina Crosson, sophomore, Anna — One of two from Anna on the second team, Crosson wound up hitting .400 on the season while being Anna’s busiest pitcher, with 80 innings of work. She scored 19 times and drove in 13.

Addie White, sophomore, Houston — White makes her first appearance on the All-County team. She hit .355 for coach Brent New, scoring 22 runs and swiping eight bases.

Cassie Meyer, senior, Jackson Center — Meyer ended her amazing high school athletic career with a solid senior season in softball. An honorable mention selection last season, she moves up to second team after hitting .364 for the Lady Tigers, with 17 RBIs and 25 runs scored. She also led in stolen bases with nine and had three triples.

Aleah Frilling, sophomore, Fort Loramie — Frilling hit .321 for coach Brad Turner’s Lady Redskins this season, scoring 29 times and driving in 17 runs. She also belted a team-high five homers and had an impressive slugging percentage of .577.

Olivia Bowser, sophomore, Houston — Bowser enjoyed a solid season for the Lady Wildcats, hitting .365 with six doubles, a pair of homers, 18 RBIs and 22 runs scored.

Courtney Sutton, freshman, Botkins — The only freshman on the team, and a deserving one. Sutton was the bright spot in a tough season for the Lady Trojans. She hit a healthy .490, with eight doubles, three triples and a home run for a gawdy slugging percentage of .804. She also scored 15 runs and stole 13 bases, both team-highs.

Honorable mention

Twelve more players received honorable mention recognition. Four were from Russia, giving the league champions eight players in all on the All-County team.

Anna — Taylor Spence, sophomore

Botkins — Mikayla Place, senior; Ashleigh Gibson, junior

Fairlawn — Madison Pierce, sophomore; Arizonia McCormick, freshman

Fort Loramie — Morgan Holscher, junior

Jackson Center — Connor Pipke, junior; Katelyn Sosby, sophomore

Russia — Katie Swartz, senior; Lauren Monnin, junior; Shea Borchers, sophomore; Jenna Cordonnier, sophomore.