By Mike Ridaught
This Tuesday, June 11, Oakleaf High School (Orange Park) & “The Prep Zone” will host the inaugural North Florida All-Star Softball games featuring four teams from four regions that comprise The Prep Zone’s coverage area (26 counties from Duval County down to Lake County).
The West team is coached by Trenton’s Todd Bryant, who led the Tigers to their first fast-pitch softball state title in school history and a 27-0 record. He is assisted by Bell coach Krystal Holley and Trenton assistant Clint Anderson.
Bryant, the Class 1A Coach of the Year, has a stacked roster. A total of 12 of the 14 players on the West squad have signed to play at the next level, including six players who will be playing at Santa Fe College in Gainesville next season.
The West will play the South at noon on Tuesday, June 11. The North will play the East at 10 a.m. The losers will play at 3 p.m. (3rd-place), while the winners will play for the championship at 5 p.m.
WEST ROSTER
#1 Cris’Deona Beasley (Lake City Columbia) P/SS – Santa Fe College signee
Went 10-5 for the Tigers with 1.40 ERA, 64 strikeouts in 100 innings pitched; had two no-hitters. At the plate, batted .414 with five doubles, one home run and 17 RBIs
#3 Laila Dickey (Madison County) SS/2B – Santa Fe College signee
.437 BA, 24 RS, finished 2nd on the team with 31 hits, 15 RBI, 8 2B, 1 HR, .506 OBP, .591 SLG; .912 fielding percentage
#4 Talia Brown (Starke Bradford) LF/CF – signed with South Georgia State
Hit .392 with three doubles, two triples, three home runs, 20 RBIs, walked 22 times, .566 on base percentage
#6 Lauren Hutcherson (Lake City Columbia) SS/CF – signed with Florida Gulf Coast University
Batted .415 with five doubles, one triple, 12 RBIs, walked 12 times, .951 fielding percentage
#9 Ragan Barnes (Mayo Lafayette) 2B/3B/C – signed with Savannah State
.283 BA, 12 RS, 15 hits, 12 RBI, 5 2B
#10 Grace Guthrie (Trenton) 1B – Santa Fe College signee
Hit .250 with 5 doubles, 10 RBIs, 22 runs scored
#11 Ashlyn Rogers (Monticello Aucilla Christian) 3B/C – Santa Fe College signee
.625 BA, 10 RS, 15 RBI, 4 2B, 3 HR, .656 OBP; finished 3rd in the voting for the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 2A Player of the Year; Ashlyn is a very smart, athletic and hard-working student athlete; 3.85 GPA; She can play anywhere on the field, has caught for us most of the season, but is a phenomenal 3rd baseman. Very hard working and coachable. She is a power hitter but can execute anything that needs to be done in whatever situation.
#12 Kylee Barry (Bell) P/SS/CF – signed with Division 2 Newberry College in South Carolina
Outstanding athlete who played infield, outfielder and pitched; batted .329 with 10 doubles, one triple, 16 RBIs and 26 runs scored for the 20-6 1A regional semifinalists; had fielding percentage of .902 and went 4-0 in circle with .064 ERA for 32.2 innings pitched; She has also helped her team win District and Regional Championship along with a State Final Four appearance in her high school career; 3.87 GPA
#14 Caroline Jennings (Madison County) CF/OF
.362 BA, 21 RS, 25 hits, 11 RBI, 1 2B, team-leading 15 stolen bases
#15 Macie Thomas (Chiefland) 1B – uncommitted but has offer from Hillsborough CC
One of the program’s all-time best sluggers; hit .486 with 13 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 27 RBIs for the Indians; holds multiple single-season hitting records, including most doubles in a season (19 last year), and is the last remaining starting piece of Chiefland’s 2017 state finals team, which marked the end of a four-year run that included three state championships. It was a Thomas double that lifted CMHS to the state title game that season.
#20 Kensley Durrance (Bell) P – Signed with Eckerd College
Went 8-2 on season with 0.62 ERA for the Bulldogs, with 141 strikeouts in 90 innings pitched, only 28 walks, .129 on-base percentage
#21 Dara Gaylard (Lake City Columbia) 1B/3B – Santa Fe College signee
Hit .370 with six doubles, three home runs, 23 RBIs
#32 Taniah Bowers (Trenton) 3B – Santa Fe College signee (Basketball)
Hit .309 with one double, 15 RBIs, 17 runs scored, 14 stolen bases
#44 Amber R. Thompson (Madison County) C – Signed with FSCJ
.377 BA, 29 hits, 20 RBI, 7 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, .532 SLG; .970 fielding percentage
Head Coach: Todd Bryant (Trenton)
Assistant Coach: Krystal Holley (Bell)
Assistant Coach: Clint Anderson (Trenton)
