Nine RHS softball players receive All-Area recognition

Seven players on the Russellville High School varsity softball team were selected by the coaches to the All-Area 16 First and Second Teams in late May, while two others received Honorable Mention nods. Russellville, tied with area champions Lawrence County, had nine total selections: Jacey Moore, Paislee James, Brooklyn Butler, and Bryleigh Butler were picked on the First Team; Addison Holcomb, Emma Campbell, and Ticelee Gholston made the Second Team; and Jemma Moore and Khristyan Huerta were Honorable Mentions.

Jacey Moore, the Lady Golden Tigers’ ace pitcher, was, in addition to her First Team nod, named the Defensive Most Valuable Player. Moore made 29 starts for Russellville and finished the season with a 19-11 record and a 2.19 ERA in the circle. In 188 and a third innings pitched, she allowed 173 hits, 59 earned runs and walked 38 while striking out 260 batters.

“To describe Jacey is just to talk about the pure determination to excel,” Russellville head coach Rick Lawson said. “No matter the situation, she wanted the ball every chance she could get. That’s what you want out of your seniors, and especially in a defensive specialist like her. Anytime she was inside that circle, she gave her team a chance to win. Even when she’s not having her best day, she gives her team a chance to win because she’s never going to give up.

“She doesn’t accept failure, and that’s one of those intangibles as a coach that you can’t teach,” Lawson added. “You can teach a lot of things, but you can’t teach that desire, that ‘bulldog’ mentality. They either have it or they don’t have it, and Jacey is a kid that has it.”

Alongside Jacey Moore on the First Team was Paislee James, the Lady Golden Tigers’ starting centerfielder, who was a major offensive threat for Russellville this past season, leading the team in many categories. With 49 hits on the season, James had a .340 batting average, 36 runs scored, and stole 25 bases. In 158 plate appearances, the senior struck out just 13 times.

“From a statistical standpoint, Paislee led our team in just about every offensive category, including stolen bases,” Lawson said. “She was very consistent all season, and she only had 13 strikeouts, which is phenomenal on the offensive side.

“Defensively, this is a kid that had not played in the outfield and she ended up being the center fielder and only had two errors on the year and those came very early on in the year,” Lawson added. “She’s a great player who, as a coach, whatever I asked her to do, she did it. There were no questions asked, and everything she did, she did it 100 miles per hour.”

Rounding out the First Team for Russellville were sisters Brooklyn and Bryleigh Butler, who played in the infield for the Lady Golden Tigers this season. Brooklyn, a sophomore who ended the season with three home runs, 28 RBI, and a .340 batting average, manned first base while Bryleigh played shortstop.

“Brooklyn is one of those that doesn't care what her role is. If she’s playing first or you ask her to come in to pitch or she’s stepping up to the plate in a big time situation, you know you can count on her to deliver,” Lawson said. “She was a pitcher’s best friend at first base because if you got a pop up in foul territory, she’d run into the fence…and do whatever she had to do.

“Brooklyn’s younger sister Bryleigh is a kid that I’m expecting big things out of in the future,” he added. “Fourteen years old, she started as an eighth grader at shortstop. She has a great work ethic and she asks questions—she wants to learn and she wants to get better.”

Making up the Second Team were Emma Campbell, Addison Holcomb, and Ticelee Gholston. Campbell, Russellville’s senior catcher, had a .988 fielding percentage behind the plate and was a key defensive asset for the Lady Golden Tigers.

“Emma Campbell behind the plate was the definition of consistency. She wasn’t flashy, but she was very consistent back there,” Lawson said. “She’s a pitcher’s best friend. A lot of the strikeouts we had were because of her and her ability to maneuver and give the umpire a great shot of the ball coming across the plate. We’re really going to miss her, and her shoes are going to be tough to fill because no one realizes how hard it is behind the dish until you get there. She did a tremendous job, and even though she didn’t have quite the offensive numbers she’s had in the past, it was a good trade off for what she did defensively.”

Holcomb and Gholston, two young starters for the Golden Tigers, also had two seasons worthy of Second Team recognition, Lawson said.

“Addison Holcomb at third base, a ninth grader, did an awesome job of locking down that corner for us,” he said. “Addison is going to be a player to keep watching. She’s probably one of the strongest players I’ve ever had at all the levels I’ve been coaching. She might be, naturally, one of the strongest kids I’ve been around…and she has the ability to change the game with one swing of the bat.

“Ticelee, another freshman, is a very athletic kid. She’s still learning the game a little bit, but that has to do with age more than anything else,” Lawson said. “She has the potential to be a very good player. Offensively, when the ball is on the ground she can make things happen. Defensively, she can go get a ball. In the outfield she has the speed and the athleticism to cover any gaps out there. She was a big asset and made some big plays for us out there.”

Russellville’s final two selections were Honorable Mentions Jemma Moore and Khristyan Huerta.

“Both of them are ninth graders, so you can kind of see a trend here with all of these young players,” Lawson said. “Jemma is one of those players that it’s going to be great to see how she excels in the future. I know she’s going to miss playing with her sister, but it’s going to be interesting to see how she comes into her own. She did a great job for us at second base this season and that’s a tough position to play….but she did a tremendous job for us there.

“Khristyan Huerta is one of those players, defensively in right field for us, when the ball was hit in her direction, I didn’t even have to look up because I knew she was going to be there to make a play for us,” he added. “Her numbers at the plate were not standout-ish, and that’s why she failed to make it into the First or Second Team, but this kid had tremendous at-bats. She probably saw more pitches than anyone else on the team, and she was a hard out. Even if she didn’t get on base, she was putting the ball in play and moving runners over or knocking runners in, so she was a great asset for us. She has a very bright future.”