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Clay junior center fielder Kim Crawford has been selected first team All-Ohio in Division I by the Ohio High School Softball Coaches Association.
To add to a list that includes first team All-Toledo City League, Crawford is this season’s Alan Miller Jewelers Press Player of the Year.
The Eagle’s leadoff hitter who bats on the left side of the plate, Crawford returned to Clay’s outfield as a three-year starter this season. She hit .500 last season and was a second-team All-Ohio pick.
“She's lightning fast and she can slap and she can drag (hit),” Clay coach Brenda Radabaugh said. “She hit the ball over the center fielder's head against Findlay for a triple. She's skinny and little, so a lot of times people underestimate her.”
Crawford is joined by teammates Cassi Laberdee, a senior first baseman and pitcher, and Danielle Holmes, a senior shortstop/outfielder on the All-Press first team.
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Kim Crawford |
The Eagles reached the City League final four, but lost in the semifinals. They fell short in their bid for a Division I district title, losing to top-seeded and eventual regional finalist Southview, 6-1, in a district semifinal game at Rolf Park in Maumee. Clay had defeated visiting Southview, 7-4, on April 9.
All-Press selections are based entirely on voting by league coaches, so if a player if first team all-conference, they qualify as first team All-Press.
Fifteenth-year Northwood coach Dan Fuller was selected by his peers as Coach of the Year in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference, and he gets the same honor on the All-Press Team.
Like the Northwood baseball team, Fuller led his Rangers to a conference co-championship.
The Rangers posted an 18-7 overall record that included a 7-1 mark in the TAAC. They shared the conference championship with Ottawa Hills, having split a pair of games against the Green Bears during the regular season.
Northwood had two All-Press selections in junior pitcher Jordan Edwards and senior third baseman Sammi Brisbin. Brisbin has started at third base since midway through her freshman year.
“She's been a very consistent hitter,” Fuller said. “She's a singles hitter and she can drive the ball a little bit, and she can bunt the ball. She can basically do it all.”
Fuller says Edwards seems to improve every year with one season to go.
"Jordan is deceptively fast and she has a nice changeup and a drop ball,” Fuller added. “She improved from her freshman year to her sophomore year quite a bit.”
Two other schools besides Clay have three first team All-Press choices — Lake and Cardinal Stritch. The Flyers finished second behind Elmwood in the final season of the Suburban Lakes League, and first team picks are senior second baseman Adrienne Lowe, junior third baseman Megan Schnell, and senior outfielder Kaysie Brittenham.
First team picks from Stritch are senior center fielder Amanda Sinay, sophomore catcher Alex Veres, and junior pitcher Katie Turski.
Rounding out the first team are Genoa senior outfielder Harless Hummel, Woodmore senior designated hitter Bailey Ulinski, Oak Harbor junior designated player Logan Bahnsen, and Eastwood senior pitcher Christine Foster.
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