Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Washington High School left-hander Emma Orr was named the Eastern Plains 2A Conference softball Pitcher of the Year, five teammates joined her on the All-Conference team and Brad Horton was named Coach of the Year for the second time.

Orr, a junior, earned her second Pitcher of the Year award after leading the Pack to their eighth straight conference championship. She went 18-4 with a 1.04 earned run average, 238 strikeouts, 28 walks and was in the circle for all but one of the 128 innings this spring.

“She was our workhorse and never cracked under the pressure of having the ball in her hand every game,” coach Brad Horton said. “Not only did her skills improve, but her maturity level and demeanor on the field did also.
She helped our freshmen feel comfortable in the high school environment and helped herself with a solid year batting.”

Orr smacked a team-leading five home runs, was third with 20 runs batted in and hit .444 to earn All-Conference honors for the third time.

Other All-Conference Pam Pack players include seniors Mica Lilley and Peyton Youmans, junior Addison Miller and sophomore Carly Woolard.

Woolard, a first-time selection, led the team and was third in the league with a .478 average. She collected 33 hits and was second on the team with 22 RBI.

“She was working when nobody was watching,” Horton said. “She had never played first base and did a great job. She was our number four batter and came through in a lot of tough situations to drove in runs for us.”

Miller bounced back from an eye injury sustained before her sophomore year to finish fifth in the league with a .465 average and tied Woolard for the team lead in hits with 33. 15 of those went for extra bases, including 11 doubles, two triples and a pair of home runs. This is her second All-Conference selection.

“She worked hard on her hitting in the off-season, and it paid off,” Horton said. “Her catching skills improved as well, and teams respected her arm and didn’t steal as much.”

Youmans is a second-time selection after hitting .350 and finishing second on the team with 26 runs scored.
“She was a true leader, our lead-off batter who set the tone and our defensive player of the year at second base,” Horton said. “Most of the balls hit off Emma went to her, and it helped Emma a lot to know she was going to make the play.”

Lilley, an All-Conference first-timer, hit .339 and was a solid defensive outfielder.
“Mica won our Coaches Award for having the best attitude,” Horton said. “She knew it was her last opportunity and tried to get it right. She helped Carly and the other young ones along and was a big part of our success.”

Horton won his second Coach of the Year award and credits assistant coach Dallis Tucker.

“We work very well together, and he deserves it as much as I do,” Horton said. “Different kids have different styles and we let them be themselves within the framework of our team. We don’t make them all play the same way, and we try to take what they already have and make it better.”