Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Liddle earns state Player of the Year honors
Call it a fitting end for one of Battlefield High School's all-time greatest athletes.The Virginia High School Coaches Associated named recent graduate Courtney Liddle the Group AAA Player of the Year for the 2009 softball season last week as she led the Bobcats to their second-straight appearance at the state tournament.
Liddle, who is set to play for Virginia Tech as a rookie next season, batted .517 and hit 10 home runs in her final year at Battlefield.
A four-year varsity starter, Liddle accumulated a .488 average, knocked in 98 runs and caught virtually every inning of every game for Battlefield throughout her career.
To the surprise of none, fellow Bobcat and '09 graduate Brittany Black also earned a spot on the all-state first team.
The right-hander, who is bound for Austin Peay State University in Tennessee, pitched 86 percent of all innings for Battlefield this year.
She ended the season with a 0.38 ERA while striking out 201 batters, earning a 22-3 record.
Black gave up eight earned runs, 69 hits and 25 walks in 146-2/3 innings of work, pitching nine shutouts in the process.
Black was also second on the team to Liddle in several hitting categories with a .477 average, 33 RBIs and four home runs.
Rising-senior Brittany "BC" Clendenny, the team's shortstop, was named as an honorable mention. Like Liddle and Black, she earned a first-team, all-region selection, placing third on the Battlefield team among everyday starters by hitting .432 this past season.
Her on-base percentage of .528 placed her only behind Liddle.
"As for our two first-teamers, it is just the final recognition for outstanding careers," Battlefield coach Joe Schelzo, a member of the selection committee, wrote of Liddle and Black.
"They were key contributors to our program ... While their contributions will be missed and hard to replace, they have established a legacy of success that will drive or efforts in the coming years to continue that winning tradition."
Schelzo added, "For BC, it's a marker of expectations that as one of only two likely seniors on the 2010 team, it will be up to her to lead."
Battlefield finished the 2009 season 23-3, winning regular season and tournament championships for the Cedar Run District. The Bobcats then placed second in regions and bowed out of the state tournament in the first round.
In 2008, Battlefield won districts and regions before finishing second place at states.
You must be logged in to post a comment.