Area softball players receive state honors
Four area high school softball players were recently honored by the Tennessee Softball Coaches Association after each had a stellar 2016 campaign on the diamond.
Farragut High School junior catcher Lexee Lamoree and Hardin Valley Academy players Kaleigh Wynne and Haley Cloud were named to the TSCA’s all-state Class AAA Team.
Wynne, a senior and College of Central Florida signee, also was selected to play in the association’s annual Tennessee East-West All-Star Game June 21
at Columbia State Community College. Wynne will be joined on the East All-Star squad by Farragut 2016 seniors Niki Slone and Mary Claire Coyne.
Slone, a middle infielder for the Admirals, will continue her softball career at Chattanooga State Community College in 2017. Coyne, a four-year starter at first base for Farragut, has signed with Wingate University.
“I’m extremely proud of these girls,” Admirals head coach David Moore said. “They’re extremely deserving of these honors. Lexee is a junior, so she’ll be back next year.
“Mary Claire was a four-starter for us. Niki was a three-year starter. She played and contributed a lot as a senior.”
Coyne and Slone emerged as senior leaders for Farragut in 2016 when the team battled numerous injuries. Lamoree became the starting catcher when senior Hannah Stephenson suffered an early season-ending injury.
“This is a huge honor but I couldn’t have done this without my teammates,” said Coyne, who was one of Knox county’s top power hitters during her career. “I couldn’t have had the success that I’ve had without them.
“We definitely faced a lot of adversity as a team and we had to deal with a lot of injuries. But we all battled. We all came together and we had a pretty good year.”
The Admirals posted a third-place finish in District 4-AAA and reached the district tournament semifinals before being ousted by top-seeded Maryville.
Slone said that she was pleased to be named to the all-star team.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “This is a great opportunity and it feels great.
“We definitely had a tough season with all the injuries but we came together and were able to have a pretty good year.”
Lamoree, who will return for her senior season at Farragut in 2017, was pleased to claim a spot on the Class AAA All-State Team.
“It’s pretty exciting to make all-state,” Lamoree said. “I’m glad that, as a team, we had a good season, considering all the injuries.”
She was forced by injury
to become the starting catcher for the Admirals. She
quickly adapted.
“I became comfortable with my pitching staff. We really had a great team. We had the injuries but we battled and we played hard. We had people step up and that’s what made us a great team.”
Wynne was the one player who was named to both the all-state team and the all-star squad.
She was a top pitcher during her three seasons with the Hawks. She also was one of the area’s most feared hitters. She helped Hardin Valley reach
the 2015 Class AAA State Tournament. In 2016, she and the Hawks won the district tournament as the event’s fourth seed.
HVA went on to capture the Region 2-AAA Title before falling to Seymour in a state sectional tilt.
Cloud played second base for the Hawks and was Hardin Valley’s leadoff hitter in 2016.
