By By Chandler Myers
Today we feature the 2009 Diamond Queens consisting of each player deemed worthy of being on the Atmore Advance All-Area Team.
Although there are only 10 girls on the team, it was tough to choose which girls should be placed on the team and who should be named Player of the Year.
This year’s Player of the Year should look familiar because she was also the 2008 Player of the Year.
Escambia County’s Lady Blue Devils senior Latesha Lee came into the season hoping to perform even better than last season’s .437 batting average including two home runs, 28 RBI, 20 runs and 13 stolen bases.
Even though her average slipped a few points, it still did not stop her from hitting a career high five home runs, knocked in 40 runs and nabbed 20 stolen bases this season.
Lee performed at the highest level of any player on this All-Star team, and she once again proved that she is a leader on the diamond.
Her coach, William Casaday is certainly going to miss Lee because of the passion she puts into the game.
He noted in an interview that Lee was the “backbone” of his softball team for two straight years, and that she puts in more effort than he could have ever asked for.
Casaday added that one thing that drives Lee is her competitiveness and how much she hates to lose.
Along with Lee, Casday’s Lady Blue Devils boast five other players that helped the team transition to Class 5A this season.
These girls gave 100 perecent throughout the 2009 season and fought hard all the way with everything coming to a close with a tough loss in the county tournament.
The notable strengths of this team were their power and the ability to make it around the bases. Five members on this All-Star team hit a combined 13 home runs and stole 121 bases. That’s pretty impressive.
Showing off three of its own players is Escambia Academy with senior Malori McGhee and sophomores Amber Huskey and Tori Rodriguez.
These three players helped lead their team to several wins with Rodriguez pickin up all of the Lady Cougars’ victories.
Huskey helped lead the team from behind the plate making strong calls, while McGhee led the team with 15 stolen bases.
Shawna Montgomery was the lone player from the Northview Lady Chiefs.
Montgomery boasted the highest batting average of any player on the All-Area team beating out Lee by 39 points. Only in her sophomore season, she is making a strong case to be Player of the Year in each of her final two seasons.
So, there are your 2009 Diamond Queens.
Check the Atmore Advance next week for the 2009 Diamond Kings.
Chandler Myers is sports editor of the Atmore Advance. He can be reached at 368-2123 or by e-mail at sports@atmoreadvance.com