
Pearland's Samantha Show pitched well beyond her years this season, compiling a 30-4 record and earning MaxPreps Sophomore of the Year honors.
Photo by John Godwin
Junior Savannah Horvath of Centennial (Las Vegas), sophomore Samantha Show of Pearland (Texas) and freshman Kayla Drotar of Hartsville (S.C.) headline the 2013 MaxPreps Softball Underclass All-American Team.
Junior of the Year: Savannah Horvath, CentennialHorvath, who batted .585 with 17 home runs, 64 runs scored and a state record-tying 87 RBIs, heads up the Junior Underclass All-American team. The Las Vegas Review-Journal Player of the Year, Horvath was Nevada's 2013 Gatorade recipient as Softball Player of the Year.
In addition to her 17 round-trippers, Horvath hit 15 doubles, four triples and posted a slugging percentage of 1.154. She also stole 10 bases.
Centennial scored 353 runs in winning 36 of its 42 games and repeated as Nevada's D-1 champions. Horvath accounted for 151 of those Bulldog runs.
Horvath, who verbally committed to Cal State Northridge, had 76 hits in 130 at-bats with just eight strikeouts, three of those coming in Centennial's fifth game of the season. She finished the season on a 25-game hitting streak as the Bulldogs went 24-1.
Simply put, producing runs was Horvath's thing. She drove in at least one run in each of her final 13 games and 36 total during that stretch — all Centennial wins. In a seven game stretch in April, she drove in 34, again all victories.
On April 9 and 11, she drove in eight runs in each game.
More importantly, in the Bulldogs' seven postseason games, Horvath went 17-for-22 (.773), including 8-for-10 in the state tournament, with three homers, 19 RBIs and 15 runs. She had two homers, two doubles and 10 RBIs in Centennial's three state tournament victories.
Sophomore of the Year: Samantha Show, Pearland
Cayla Drotar, Hartsville
Courtesy photo
Show hit and pitched her way onto just about any post-season softball team named in Texas. In addition to being named MaxPreps Sophomore of the Year, she was the Texas Gatorade winner, District 22-5A Most Valuable Player and first team All-State, to name a few.
In only her second season of high school softball, the Oilers ace struck out 357 batters in 183 innings. In allowing just 47 hits, Show compiled a 0.65 ERA and pitched three no-hitters, five one-hitters and seven two-hitters. She won 30 games.
Show, who has committed to Texas A&M, also batted .436 and drove in 70 runs. Of her 51 base hits, 29 went for extra bases.
Freshman of the Year: Cayla Drotar, HartsvilleDrotar, though only a freshman, has been named the Morning News Softball Player of the Year twice and All-State twice. She has already committed to the University of South Carolina.
As a freshman, Drotar was 17-3 with a sub-1.00 ERA, batted .500 and hit eight home runs.
As an eighth-grader on Hartsville's varsity, she was 25-1 and led the Red Foxes to the state 3A title. In that final game, Drotar out-dueled Stanford-bound Carley Hoover, Gatorade's 2013 National Softball Player of the Year.
MaxPreps 2013 Softball Underclass All-AmericansJuniorsP - Jess Cummings, Northern (Owings, Md.)
Jess Cummings, Northern
Photo by Israel Carunungan
The junior righthander led the Patriots to MaxPreps' mythical national title and a third-straight unbeaten season. She was 22-0 with 21 shutouts and allowed only one run and it was unearned. Cummings posted 298 strikeouts in 135 innings pitched. She threw nine no-hitters, including two perfect games, and held opponents to a .041 batting average. She has committed to Penn State.
P - Elizabeth Moss, Greenwood (Bowling Green, Ky.)Moss was 32-0 and struck out 222 in 182 Innings. Of the 645 batters she faced, only 71 managed base hits. The All-State pitcher walked only 22 and compiled a 0.38 ERA.
P - Taylor Weaver, Romeo (Mich.)Weaver led Romeo to its first appearance in the state tournament, where it fell short in the Division 1 semifinals. Finishing the season with 301 strikeouts in 205 innings and 30-3 record, Weaver has committed to Central Michigan.
P - Steph Thomas, Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.)Thomas was 29-2 as IHA finished as a runner-up in New Jersey. She held opponents to .134 average, struck out 238 in 193 innings and had an 0.34 ERA. She pitched 22 shutouts and was named the North Jersey Record Pitcher of the Year. She has committed to Lafayette College.
P - Johanna Grauer, Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.)Grauer was 22-2 with a 0.08 ERA and only two earned runs given up and 39 hits allowed in 152 innings pitched that saw her strike out 274 batters. Besides pitching one perfect game this season, Grauer pitched three no-hitters and eight one-hitters. As a batter, after struggling with a batting average below .200 until midway through league play, she ended up at .328 on the season. She has committed to Arizona State.
P - Tara Thacker, Hoover (North Canton, Ohio)Thacker was 21-0 and posted a 0.62 ERA with 134 strikeouts in 124 innings. She also batted .337 with 25 RBIs and 23 runs as Hoover won its third-straight state title and finished the season without a loss.
P - Miranda Viramontes, Chino (Calif.)The CIF-SS Division 2 Player of the year won 21 consecutive starts to finish out the season, posting a 0.36 earned run average during the regular season and allowed two runs in five postseason games. She finished with five no-hitters, six one-hitters and 15 shutouts. She has committed to Utah.
P - Tatum Buckley, Masuk (Monroe, Conn.)Buckley led the Panthers to the Class L state championship. Buckley, named the state's Gatorade Softball winner, compiled a perfect 27-0 record with a 0.37 ERA for the Panthers. Of her 27 wins, 18 were shutouts, four were no-hitters and two were perfect games. She struck out 289 batters in 171 innings and was named the CHSCA Player of the Year and CHSCA Female Athlete of the Year. She also batted leadoff with a .506 average with 42 hits and 28 RBIs. She has committed to Florida Atlantic.
P - Makenzie Prince, Smyrna (Tenn.)The 5-foot-3 junior right-handed pitcher led the Bulldogs to a 40-10 record and the Class AAA state championship this season. Prince posted a 37-6 record with a 0.83 ERA and 370 strikeouts in 252 innings pitched. Named the Pitcher of the Year by the Daily News Journal, she also batted .401 with five home runs and 31 RBIs. In the Class AAA state tournament, she finished 4-0 with a 0.45 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 31 innings pitched.
P - Allyson Frei, High Point (Sussex, N.J.)Frei posted a 22-4 record with a 0.19 ERA and 393 strikeouts in 186 innings pitched this past season, leading the Wildcats (22-4-1) to the North I, Group III sectional final. A returning First Team All-State selection as named by The Star-Ledger, Frei recorded 14 shutouts and two no-hitters, including a 21-strikeout perfect game against Vernon Township on April 8. Also the returning All-West Jersey Player of the Year, she batted .325 with four home runs and 18 RBIs.
P - Allie Walljasper, Sierra (Manteca, Calif.)She was 18-2 during the regular season — her only losses coming to city rival East Union and playoff qualifier Oakdale — with a 0.47 ERA. Opponents batted .088 against her. In 120 innings, she struck out 227 and walked just 24. She batted .482 with 20 RBIs, a .557 on-base percentage and an .815 slugging percentage. She has committed to LSU.
C - Maddy Jelenicki, Saugus (Calif.)
Maddy Jelenicki, Saugus
Photo by Heston Quan
Jelenicki batted .576, drove in 31 runs, scored 32 and 21 of her base hits were for extra bases, including nine home runs. She struck out just once in 2013 as the Centurions finished 20-10. She has committed to UCLA.
C - Ashley Walters, Center Point (Texas)Batting leadoff, Walters was unstoppable – .761 batting average (.807 OBA), 70 hits, 70 runs, 76 RBIs, 19 home runs, 30 doubles, 4 triples, 1.793 slugging and she struck out just once. She has committed to Texas A&M.
C - Gwen Svekis, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)Svekis, who was named the Sun-Sentinel's Large School Player of the Year, batted .407 with 34 RBIs, nine home runs, and 19 extra base hits. She has committed to Oregon.
1B - Allison Stewart, Olathe East (Kan.)A two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year, the right-handed pitcher and first baseman led the Hawks (24-1) to a second-straight Class 6A state championship. Stewart batted .487 with two home runs, 42 RBIs and a .713 slugging percentage. In the circle, the Sunflower League Player of the Year posted a 13-1 record with a 0.39 ERA and 164 strikeouts against just two walks in 90.1 innings pitched. She struck out 17 batters and had a walk-off single in Olathe East's 2-1, nine-inning win over Derby High in the state semifinals. She has committed to Arkansas.
1B - Caitlin Plocheck, Deer Park (Texas)Plocheck batted .546 and drove in 43 runs. She was also 8-0 with an 1.16 ERA and struck out 90 in 66 innings. The Houston Chronicle Player of the Year has committed to Lipscomb.
IF - Savannah Horvath, Centennial (Las Vegas)The 5-8 junior third baseman led the Bulldogs (36-6) to the Class 4A state championship this past season and was named MaxPreps Junior Player of the Year. Horvath batted .585 with 17 home runs, 64 runs scored and a state record-tying 87 RBIs. She is a First Team All-State selection and the Las Vegas Review-Journal Player of the Year.
IF - Vanessa Shippy, Lake City (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho)The second baseman put up numbers that made her a finalist for Junior Player of the Year as she batted .733 with an on base percentage of .774 in 28 games. She had 70 hits, scored 69 runs, drove in 30 teammates and was not caught stealing in 54 tries. She had 21 extra base hits and played a key role in Lake City winning its second state title in three years. She has committed to Arkansas.
IF - Jenna Lilley, Hoover (North Canton, Ohio)The shortstop led the Crimson Tide to a 35-0 record and the Division I state title. Lilley batted .697 with seven home runs, 53 RBIs and 46 runs scored in 32 games. A 2012 First Team All-State selection, she has produced an .804 on-base percentage and a 1.303 slugging percentage. She has committed to Oregon.
IF - Kylee Perez, Alhambra (Martinez, Calif.)Perez finished 2013 with a .618 batting average, .691 on base percentage, 42 hits, 51 RBIs, 46 runs, 12 home runs, 18 steals and committed one error. She has committed to UCLA.
IF - Brooke Wydeski, Marist (Chicago)Wydeski batted .587 with 12 home runs, 64 RBIs and 50 runs scored while slugging 1.025 and stealing 22 bases en route to being named The Regional News-The Reporter Softball Player of the Year. She has committed to Loyola.
IF - Corrin Green, Mountain Ridge (Glendale, Ariz.)Green put up big numbers for state's No. 3 team – .566 BA, .632 OBA, 60 hits, 56 RBIs, 46 runs, 33 extra base hits, including 17 home runs and 1.198 slugging pct. She has committed to New Mexico State.
IF - Alyssa Angel, La Grange (Texas)All-stater with 32 extra base hits and 68 runs scored to go with a .525 batting average and 38 RBIs. She also had 41 stolen bases for the 38-4 Leopards. She has committed to Texas.
OF - Raley Slone, Greenwood (Bowling Green, Ky.)Slone struck out just four times in 156 at-bats while collecting 83 base hits and batting .532. She scored 61 runs, had 19 stolen bases and did not commit an error as Greenwood went 44-0 and earned a No. 3 national ranking.
OF - Emily Griggs, Maize (Kan.)Griggs batted .688, scored 40 runs and totaled 55 hits in just 23 games. She had an on base percentage of .731 and added 21 stolen bases for the 18-5 Eagles.
OF - Brianna Gonzalez, Chapin (El Paso, Texas)Ending the season with a 20-game hitting streak, Gonzalez batted .560 and accounted for 151 runs (76 runs, 75 RBIs). She had 13 doubles, 13 triples and 16 home runs en route to a 1.209 slugging percentage.
OF - Emily Woodruff, Albertville (Ala.)
Kelsey Smith, Empire
File photo by James Conrad
Woodruff hit for power and average – .542 with 15 home runs, 48 RBIs and 24 doubles. She also stole 46 bases. She has committed to Jacksonville State.
OF - Breanna Beatty, Palo Verde (Las Vegas)Beatty batted .525, with nine home runs, 19 doubles and 49 RBIs for the state's No. 2 team. She has committed to North Dakota State.
UTIL - Nicole Newman, La Follette (Madison, Wis.)A 6-1 right-handed pitcher, Newman registered a 15-4 record with a 0.44 ERA and 311 strikeouts against only 22 walks in 143.2 innings, leading the Lancers (17-5) to the Division 1 regional finals. A returning First Team All-State selection as named by the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association, Newman batted .567 with six home runs.
UTIL - Kelsey Smith, Empire (Tucson, Ariz.)Smith led the state in RBIs with 75 and was tied for second in home runs with 15. She also went 11-3 in the circle, striking out 89 batters in 56.2 innings with a 1.73 ERA. She had 21 multi-RBI games and may have had her best performance against San Manuel, the eventual Division IV state champion, when she homered twice and drove in five runs. She was named the Arizona Star's Player of the Year.