| Repeat selections highlight All-County softball team (06-08-12) |
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| Written by JACK CARLE Sentinel Sports Editor | |
| Friday, 08 June 2012 09:30 | |
Elmwood junior shortstop Brittany George and Lake senior third baseman Megan Schnell have each been selected for the third straight year while Perrysburg senior catcher Kimmy Granata was a first-team pick in 2009, 2011 and this season. On the team for the second-straight year are Bowling Green senior pitcher Casey Akenberger and Rossford sophomore catcher Margo Jackson, who was selected as an outfielder last season. The 14-player first-team and the 14-player honorable mention list are selected by members of the Sentinel-Tribune sports staff and are not position specific. Also on the team are three players from Northern Buckeye Conference champion Eastwood - junior pitcher Whitney Foster, junior outfielder Ally Gabel and sophomore third baseman Cassidy Rolf. In addition to Granata, junior shortstop Katie Dunphy and senior outfielder Tyniesha Wilson are on the first-team for the Yellow Jackets, who advanced to the Division I regional semifinal. Rounding out the first-team are: Otsego freshman pitcher Kylie Asmus; North Baltimore senior pitcher Jessica Frost; Elmwood senior pitcher/first baseman Whitney Striff; and Northwood senior outfielder/infielder Cindy Szyperski. Dunphy, Frost, Rolf, Striff and Szyperski were on the honorable mention list last season. George hit .455 with 21 extra-base hits, including 16 doubles and three home runs. She had 28 RBI and 28 runs scored and added six stolen bases. "Brittany has got a lot of pop to her bat," Elmwood head coach Matt Hoiles said. "She hits a lot of line drives and the ball gets through the infield very fast. She hits gaps well and that shows with her doubles and triples.'' George started the season as a catcher, but was moved back to shortstop. "Wherever we would put her, she would probably be the best in the NBC, probably the best in the district and an All-Ohio pick; she's that type of athlete," Hoiles said. Schnell batted .488 and had 14 extra-base hits. She scored 28 runs and had 26 RBI with 10 stolen bases. "Megan has been the most consistent player we have had in the last couple of years. She's a true competitor and she's the hardest on herself," Lake head coach Dave Rymers said. Schnell finished as Lake's career leader in extra-base hits with 49 and total hits with 150. She's tied for the Flyers' single-season record with three home runs and career home runs with eight. "I can't say enough about the work she put in, not only during the season, but 12 months a year," Rymers said. Schnell was moved from shortstop to third base during her freshman year and was a force defensively. "There were very few hitters that got a ball by her or surprised her with a ball at third," Rymers said. "She covered that line for the slappers and the power-hitters." Granata hit a school-record .523 with 20 extra-base hits, including seven home runs, and drove in 38 runs. She scored 23 runs and had five stolen bases. "This year she was determined that she was going to be a huge impact player. And she was a huge impact player defensively and offensively," Perrysburg head coach Ryan DeMars said. "She had a great arm from behind the plate and she kept teams in check from wanting to run. She was a great deterrent back there to temper the other team's running game." A left-handed hitter and thrower, Granata finished her career with a school-record 20 home runs. "She set the single-season school record for batting average on top of her power," DeMars said. Granata will continue her academic and softball career at Kent State. Akenberger was 15-10 with a 2.48 earned run average while striking out a career-high 201 in 152 2/3 innings. She was also BG's leadoff hitter, batting .500 with 36 runs scored, 20 RBI, and 21 stolen bases. Of Akenberger's 12 extra-base hits, eight were triples and three were home runs. "She contributed all the way around, offensively, defensively and on the mound," Bowling Green head coach Jim Cress said. "She clearly was the player who had the most impact on the success we had this year." Cress used Akenberger, who had BG's top on-base percentage this season, in the leadoff spot to provide more RBI opportunities for the rest of the team. Akenberger was an honorable mention pick in 2010. Jackson hit .542 with 40 RBI, 27 runs scored and 12 stolen bases in addition to 20 extra-base hits. "Her best quality is that she is very coachable. She'll look you in the face, listen, take what you tell her, and apply it," said Rossford head coach Tom Kralovic. "She's just a well-rounded ballplayer. "When it's all said and done she will be the best softball player that I will have had the privilege of coaching," Kralovic added. "She works hard at it and she is very demanding of herself." Jackson moved from the outfield to catcher this season. "I let her call the (pitches) ... and she does a great job," Kralovic said. Foster was 21-3 with a 0.95 ERA with 135 strikeouts in 162 innings. She also hit .353 with 23 RBI, 22 runs scored and seven stolen bases. "She didn't walk people. She kept the ball in the strike zone and made teams put the ball in play, and she had almost a strikeout an inning," said Eastwood head coach Joe Wyant. "She fielded her position really well." Whitney Foster follows in the cleats of older sister Christine, who was a three-time first-team all-county pick at pitcher for the Eagles. Gabel hit .437 and scored 40 runs for the Eagles. She also had 23 RBI, seven stolen bases and six extra-base hits. "She hit second in the order, she was a good bunter, she hit for average and she hit for some power," Wyant said. "She had a good year. She runs the bases well and developed into a real good outfielder." Rolf hit .489 with 35 RBI for Eastwood with 17 extra-base hits. She scored 33 runs and had 11 steals. The 35 RBI were a single-season record and Rolf's average was second-best in school history. "She hit for power and drove in a lot of runs. She was a great asset to the team. For being a sophomore, she did a really good job," Wyant said. "Defensively, she did a good job on the bunts because she had such a strong arm." Dunphy hit .460 and had 22 extra-base hits, including eight home runs, as Perrysburg's leadoff hitter. She scored a school-record 42 runs and had 20 RBI with six stolen bases. "This year she really came into her own for us. She was a tremendous player for us from the leadoff spot," DeMars said. In addition to getting on base, Dunphy was a dangerous extra-base threat from the leadoff position. "A lot of time she would be at second or third and not force us to have to use a sacrifice," DeMars said. Shortstop is Dunphy's third position in three years for Perrysburg. She was first base as a freshman and a second baseman in 2011. "She's an outstanding defensive player. She makes plays that other girls cannot make, do not make or have not made in the past," DeMars said. "She has range from the left and to the right. "It did get to the point when she made an error, it was 'Where did that come from?' She was rock-solid." Wilson batted .505 and her 52 hits were the most of any first-team selection. She scored 28 runs with 23 RBI and 10 stolen bases with eight extra base hits. Wilson, who hit left-handed, hit second in the order between Dunphy and Granata and focused on slapping the ball to put it in play. "That just put tremendous pressure on the defense. She was just a tremendous weapon to have in that number two spot for us," DeMars said. Wilson played left field for the Yellow Jackets. "She has great speed and great range out there and had a pretty good arm. She did the job we needed from her out there," DeMars said. A left-handed pitcher, Asmus made an immediate impact for the Knights, going 11-6 with a 1.87 ERA with 230 strikeouts in 123 innings. "Good lefties are not that common. It's harder for the batter to pick up the ball," said Otsego head coach Dan Sheperd. Asmus also hit .350 with 16 RBI, 18 runs scored and 18 stolen bases with 11 extra-base hits. "She just wants to be a student of the whole game," Sheperd said. "She worked really hard on her hitting." Sheperd said Asmus was able to keep her focus and composure during Otsego's numerous extra inning and one-run games. "She's still learning," Sheperd said. "There were some things she had to get through this year." Frost is on the first-team after being on the honorable mention list the last two seasons. She went 17-10 with a 2.13 ERA while striking out a school-record 263 batters in 161 1/3 innings. "As a senior she really stepped in and took charge of the whole team ... She was a true leader of our team along with our other senior Ally Baker," North Baltimore head coach Frankie Hernandez said. "She was really a true workhorse of our team on the mound." Frost finished her career at North Baltimore with a school-record 705 strikeouts. Frost hit .373 with 33 RBI and nine runs scored. She had nine home runs among her 14 extra-base hits. Hernandez said Frost was mentally strong at both the plate and in the circle. "She was determined to make the most of this season," Hernandez said. Elmwood's Striff hit six home runs and batted .477. She drove in 36 runs and scored 13 runs. "Her mainstay was her bat in the lineup. She possessed a lot of power and it was fun to watch her hit," Hoiles said. "There was a lot of extra work that she put in and it paid off. From a power standpoint and average, she did a great job. "On the mound she was a girl who threw a lot of strikes and kept us in every game," Hoiles added. Striff's pitching stats were unavailable. Striff moves up to the first team after two years on the honorable mention list. Szyperski led the county with a .560 batting average with 52 RBI and 21 extra-base hits, including five home runs. She scored 41 runs and had six stolen bases for the Rangers. "Hitting-wise Cindy just had a great year. She struck out only five times in 84 at-bats," said Northwood head coach Dan Fuller. "Not only did she put the ball in play, she hit with power. "She can catch, play almost any infield position ,and play all the outfield positions," Fuller added. "You talk about a five-tool kid and that's her. She can hit for power, she can hit for average, she can run and she can catch it ... She does everything well, she really does. And she has a great attitude which tops it off." On the honorable mention list are: Bowling Green's Hayley Williford; Eastwood's Hannah Hirzel and Courtney Rolf; Elmwood's Sierra Beckford and Tori Hillard; Lake's Kayla Encalado; Lakota's Alaina Bickford and Abby Durst; North Baltimore's Ricci Emahiser and Megan Wright; Northwood's Allison Burch; Rossford's Hannah Gauthier and Abby Stahl; and Perrysburg's Felicia Eisenbrandt. Durst and Williford were on the all-county first team last season. |
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