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A look at SportsDay's All-Area softball first team

FIRST TEAM

KAT BATEY

P, Plano, Sr.

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Notable: The Midwestern State signee was an all-state selection for the second straight year and was named co-pitcher of the year in District 8-5A. She ranked second among area 5A pitchers in wins in the regular season and finished 26-6 with a 1.91 ERA. Batey led Plano to a share of first place in 8-5A and to the regional quarterfinals. She hit .377 with 10 doubles and 33 RBIs.

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Did you know? Batey plans to major in exercise physiology and wants to become a physical therapist.

SUSAN WELBORN

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P, Birdville, Jr.

Notable: The junior, who has committed to Texas Tech, was all-state and was named District 5-4A MVP. Welborn was 23-5 with a 1.40 ERA and 247 strikeouts in 17061/3 innings. She won nine straight decisions before a 3-2 loss to Waco Midway in the Class 4A Region I final. Welborn hit .417 for the season and .412 in the playoffs. She had 34 RBIs and scored 35 runs.

Did you know? Welborn played basketball and volleyball as a freshman before deciding to focus on just softball.

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TAYLOR MALISKA

P, Ennis, So.

Notable: The sophomore was named District 15-4A MVP. Maliska was 26-5, and three of her wins came against Class 4A state semifinalist Forney. She had nine shutouts and helped Ennis win the district title and reach the 4A Region II final. Maliska hit .357, had 30 RBIs and scored 32 runs.

Did you know? Maliska is thinking about pursuing a career in the medical field.

ASHLEY DUMOULIN

P, Trophy Club Byron Nelson, Jr.

Notable: Dumoulin was an all-state selection and was named District 5-4A’s pitcher of the year. She was 26-8 with a 1.16 ERA and had wins over 4A state semifinalist Waco Midway and 4A regional finalist Birdville. She pitched 11 shutouts and struck out 190 in 20562/3 innings. She hit .396 with four home runs.

Did you know? Dumoulin said she’s thinking about the pharmacy or nursing fields as a college major.

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HANNAH NEWCOMB

P, Frisco Wakeland, Sr.

Notable: The West Texas A&M signee was the District 9-4A MVP and earned all-state recognition. She was 24-5 with a 1.44 ERA and had a win over Ennis, then the state’s No. 1-ranked 4A team. She led 9-4A champion Frisco Wakeland to the 4A Region II semifinals. Newcomb hit .325 with 10 home runs and 39 RBIs.

Did you know? Newcomb works at the Babe’s chicken restaurant in Frisco.

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RILEY FIRA

C, Ennis, Jr.

Notable: Despite being walked 33 times in 43 games, Fira led all Dallas-area players with 70 RBIs and tied for second in home runs with 15. Fira, who has committed to UT-Arlington, was an all-state pick and was named District 15-4A’s co-offensive player of the year. She hit .482, scored 50 runs, and 33 of her 53 hits went for extra bases.

Did you know? Fira hit game-winning home runs in the final inning in back-to-back games in the regional semifinals against Frisco Wakeland to put Ennis in a regional final for the first time.

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CHALEY BRICKEY

IF, Haltom, Sr.

Notable: The Kansas signee was named District 6-5A MVP for the second consecutive season. Brickey led area Class 5A players in batting average (.643) during the regular season and finished the season hitting .609. Brickey had nine home runs and 45 RBIs to rank among the area leaders in both categories, and 56 percent of her hits were for extra bases.

Did you know? Brickey finished high school a year early. … She is planning to major in education and wants to become a math teacher and/or coach.

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BREANNA DOZIER

IF, Rowlett, Sr.

Notable: The Texas A&M signee tied for second among area 5A players in home runs with 12, and she hit .522 with 39 RBIs. Dozier was named District 10-5A MVP, and 71 percent of her hits went for extra bases. She helped Rowlett finish second in 10-5A.

Did you know? Dozier plans to major in accounting.

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SYDNIE TAPIA

IF, Mansfield Summit, Sr.

Notable: The Texas Tech signee was named District 7-4A MVP. During the regular season, she ranked third among area 4A players in batting average (.600), fifth in RBIs (45) and tied for seventh in stolen bases (18). She had 15 doubles, four triples and six home runs.

Did you know? Tapia plans to be a pre-med major and hopes to become a pediatric surgeon.

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JACQUE ANTHONY

IF, Plano East, Jr.

Notable: Anthony was named District 8-5A’s co-offensive player of the year and helped Plano East earn the top seed from 8-5A and reach the 5A state semifinals. She led nationally ranked Plano East with a .432 batting average and had 14 doubles, seven home runs, 43 RBIs and 30 runs. She has committed to the University of Great Falls in Montana.

Did you know? Anthony is considering digital-interactive media as her major, with a minor in art, and may look to become a graphic artist.

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KRISTEN MILES

OF, Plano, Sr.

Notable: The Louisiana Tech signee earned all-state honors for the second straight year and was named District 8-5A’s co-offensive player of the year. Miles had a .485 batting average, 24 stolen bases and hit .452 with runners in scoring position. She helped Plano reach the regional quarterfinals after the nationally ranked team tied for first in 8-5A.

Did you know? Miles plans to major in chemistry and wants to be a pharmacist.

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PAIGE STEVENS

OF, North Mesquite, Sr.

Notable: The Abilene Christian signee was named District 11-5A MVP. Stevens ranked ninth among area 5A players with a .543 batting average in the regular season. In 23 games, Stevens scored 33 runs, had 32 stolen bases and had 17 games with two or more hits. She had a hit in every game but one in the regular season and had a 17-game hitting streak.

Did you know? Stevens’ little brother, Dylan, was killed in an accident at the Mesquite Girls Softball Complex in 2008, but Paige kept playing softball even though that is where North Mesquite plays home games. That was the subject of a story in The Dallas Morning News that led to Stevens being featured in ESPN’s E:60 series.

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KATIE ST. PIERRE

OF, Flower Mound, Sr.

Notable: Despite a schedule that included 26 games against playoff teams — 24 of them 5A schools — the Houston signee hit .424 with 13 extra-base hits, 24 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. She was an all-state selection and was named District 8-5A’s utility player of the year. She had some of her best games against elite competition, hitting .588 in six regular-season games against 4A state runner-up Montgomery and nationally ranked Plano East and Plano. She didn’t make an error in the outfield.

Did you know? St. Pierre is looking to major in kinesiology.

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CHELSEA HERNDON

UTIL., Hebron, Jr.

Notable: Herndon was an all-state selection and was one of the best clutch hitters in the area. She hit a walk-off RBI single in the regular-season finale to beat Flower Mound Marcus and put Hebron in the playoffs, then hit .481 with nine RBIs in eight playoff games to lead Hebron to the 5A Region I final. Herndon hit a three-run triple to clinch Hebron’s first-round playoff sweep of state-ranked Keller, then hit a game-winning, three-run home run against nationally ranked Plano with Hebron one out from elimination in the regional quarterfinals.

Did you know? Herndon led Hebron in hits (50) and runs (33) and was second in batting average (.394), RBIs (28) and extra-base hits (19).

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SHELBY CARTER

UTIL., Celina, Sr.

Notable: The Midwestern State signee was an all-state pick for the second straight season and was named the Texas Girls Coaches Association’s Class 3A-2A-1A state player of the year. Carter hit .470 with 16 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 45 RBIs. She was the District 10-3A MVP and hit .560 in the playoffs to help 10-3A champion Celina reach the 3A Region II semifinals.

Did you know? Carter was SportsDay’s softball player of the year in 2011 after helping Celina win the 3A state championship. She was named MVP of the state title game.