Nearly half of the players chosen to the All-Little Okaw Valley Conference baseball and softball teams were chosen from Crawford County, as a total of 11 out of 26 players represented either Oblong, Hutsonville-Palestine or both.
Nearly half of the players chosen to the All-Little Okaw Valley Conference baseball and softball teams were chosen from Crawford County, as a total of 12 out of 26 players represented either Oblong, Hutsonville-Palestine or both.
A total of 13 players were selected to one of two softball teams, with nine named to the First Team and four making the Honorable Mention list.
Hutsonville-Palestine’s four selections led the way, followed by Oblong and Red Hill with three apiece, Union-Dugger netting two and Martinsville recording one.
Representing Hutsonville-Palestine on the First Team were senior Izzy Sheets, sophomore Addison McNair and freshman Ayla Cook.
Sheets was a standout in the circle and at the plate for the Lady Tigers this past season. She registered a program-record 20 wins while pitching in nearly every game and compiling a 0.46 ERA. She allowed 31 runs, although just 11 of them were earned. She gave up 58 hits, walked 17 batters and struck out 345, which was the most by any pitcher in Class 1A this season. She set program records for lowest ERA, most strikeouts in a season and career, most wins and most shutouts.
At the plate, Sheets batted .342 (27-79) with four home runs, five doubles, one triple and 22 runs batted in. She also posted a .974 fielding percentage, as she made just one error on the season.
McNair posted a team-high .395 batting average (32-81) with four doubles and 18 runs batted, while striking out just three times. She also had a .935 fielding percentage with just two errors.
Cook hit .316 (25-79) with three doubles and 14 runs batted in. The freshman catcher also set a school record for putouts with 245 and boasted a .993 fielding percentage.
Oblong also had two First Team selections in senior Jenna Bailey and junior Gracie Lemmon.
Bailey pitched in every game for the Lady Panthers this season, posting a 7-16 record with a 2.67 ERA. She allowed 124 runs (55 earned) on 160 hits, while walking 26 and striking out 147 in 144 innings of work.
She also batted .239 (11-46) with five doubles, nine runs batted in and three runs scored.
Lemmon posted a .162 batting average (11-68) with 11 runs scored, four runs batted in and a team-leading six stolen bases.
Each team also had a representative on the Honorable Mention list, with sophomore Alaina Holcomb representing Hutsonville-Palestine and freshman Jorie Weber representing Oblong.
Holcomb ended the season with a .306 batting average (22-72) with three doubles and two triples. She also made just one error on the season and finished with a .990 fielding percentage.
Weber finished the season for OHS with a .129 batting average (8-62) with five runs scored, three runs batted in and three stolen bases.
On the baseball side, a total of 13 players were selected, with nine named to the First Team and four making the Honorable Mention list.
Oblong-Palestine-Hutsonville collected the most selections with four, while Red Hill, Martinsville and Union-Dugger each recorded three.
Three players represented OPH on the First Team, including seniors Rider Lawhorn and Gary Higginbotham, along with sophomore Max Lewis.
Lawhorn batted .298 (17-57) for OPH with seven doubles, 15 runs scored and nine runs batted in. Lawhorn led the team in doubles, while he was second in runs scored and total hits, third in batting average and tied for fourth in runs batted in. He also struck out just four times, while stealing a team-high 17 bases without ever being thrown out.
Higginbotham hit .255 (14-55) with one home run, one double, 11 runs scored and tied for the team lead with 10 runs batted in.
He was also solid on the mound, posting a 3-1 record with a 0.96 ERA in six appearances. He allowed just seven runs (four earned) on 19 hits, while walking eight and striking out 36 in a team-leading 29.1 innings of work.
Lewis was also strong on the mound for OPH, finishing with a 3-2 record and a 0.72 ERA in six appearances. He allowed 11 runs (three earned) on 20 hits, while walking eight and striking out 27 in a team-high 29.1 innings of work.
At the plate, Lewis hit .143 (3-28) with one double, two runs batted in and two runs scored.
Also representing OPH on the Honorable Mention list was senior Hayden Johnson.
Johnson posted a team-high .373 batting average (19-51) with three doubles, 11 runs scored and a team-leading 10 runs batted in. He was also 9-10 on stolen bases, which was third-best on the team.
Johnson also pitched in seven games, including three starts, ending with a 2-3 record and a 3.50 ERA with one save. He allowed 19 runs (11 earned) on 20 hits, while walking nine and striking out a team-leading 34 batters in 22 innings of work.
2022 All-Little Okaw Valley Conference Softball Team
First Team
Name Yr. School
Izzy Sheets Sr. Hutsonville-Palestine
Jenna Bailey Sr. Oblong
Stormy Kinnard Sr. Union-Dugger
Emma Robinson Sr. Red Hill
Addison McNair So. Hutsonville-Palestine
Tori Ellington Sr. Martinsville
Gracie Lemmon Jr. Oblong
Sydney Griesemer Sr. Red Hill
Ayla Cook Fr. Hutsonville-Palestine
Honorable Mention
Name Yr. School
Alaina Holcomb So. Hutsonville-Palestine
Katelyn Leigh Sr. Union-Dugger
Kamryn Young So. Red Hill
Jorie Weber Fr. Oblong
2022 All-Little Okaw Valley Conference Baseball Team
First Team
Name Yr. School
Bryce Gross Jr. Red Hill
Anthony Jerrell Sr. Red Hill
Gary Higginbotham Sr. Oblong-Palestine-Hutsonville
Rider Lawhorn Sr. Oblong-Palestine-Hutsonville
Max Lewis So. Oblong-Palestine-Hutsonville
Lucas Skinner Jr. Martinsville
Sebastian Herrera Sr. Martinsville
Brennen Martin Sr. Union-Dugger
Carter Haton Sr. Union-Dugger
Honorable Mention
Name Yr. School
Trevor Tewell Sr. Red Hill
Hayden Johnson Sr. Oblong-Palestine-Hutsonville
Tobin Morrison Jr. Martinsville
Andrew Smith Sr. Union-Dugger
