Vote for the southwestern Illinois Softball Player of the Week May 23-28
Vote for the Belleville News-Democrat’s High School Softball Player of the Week. The poll closes at 10 a.m. Friday, June 3. To vote again, hit refresh.
Want to nominate an athlete? The BND Athlete of the Week highlights high school varsity softball and baseball players who put in outstanding performances from the week prior to the opening of the poll. If you want to suggest someone to be included, send an email to Garen Vartanian at gvartanian@bnd.com.
Please include the athlete’s name, school, class, position, and applicable game performance statistics. Coaches must be willing to verify information.
To be clear, this poll is not scientific. In fact, we invite you to vote as many times as you want. It’s all for fun, BND readers. People also may submit the same athlete from week to week.
We are planning to post the results later this week after the poll closes.
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Here are this week’s nominees:
Sophia Donoho, Highland High School, sophomore, P. In regional semifinal win against Centralia, Donoho fired a complete-game 3-hit shutout while striking out 9. She then threw another complete-game shutout in leading the Lady Bulldogs to the regional championship. Donoho is 16-7 on the season with a 3.27 earned run average and 169 strikeouts in 147 2/3 innings pitched.
Nicole Edmiaston, Freeburg High School, junior, 1B/P. Edmiaston had Freeburg’s lone RBI in a 1-0 sectional championship victory against Gillespie before going 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in a super-sectional win against Pinckneyville, helping the Midgets secure a spot at state. Edmiaston is hitting .632 this spring with 12 home runs, 41 runs scored, 15 doubles and 70 RBI. She also has gone 3-0 on the mound with a 2.74 earned run average.
Lizzy Ludwig, Freeburg High School, senior P/INF. In an extra inning win against Newton in the sectional semifinals, Ludwig pitched all 8 innings, allowing just just 2 hits and 0 earned runs while fanning 13. Ludwig followed that up with a 2-hit shutout of Gillespie in the sectional championship and a 2-hit shutout of Pinckneyville in the super-sectional, sending the Midgets to state. On the season, Ludwig is 17-1 with a 0.26 earned run average and 158 strikeouts in 106 innings pitched. She also is batting .444 with 10 home runs and 50 RBI.
Mia Miller, Waterloo High School, sophomore, P. In the regional semifinals, Miller fired a 2-hit shutout against Mascoutah while fanning 11. Miller finished the season 13-7 with a 2.22 earned run average and 168 strikeouts in 135 2/3 innings pitched. She also hit .383 with 1 home run and 19 RBI.
Payton Todd, Belleville West High School, senior, P. In a regional semifinal victory against O’Fallon, Todd fired a complete game for the win while also collecting 2 hits and 2 RBI. Todd completed the season 12-6 with and also had 18 RBI.
Ailene Walker, Belleville East High School, senior, P/2B. In a regional victory against Granite City, Walker threw 4 shutout innings and allowed just 1 hit while also collecting a single and driving in 1 run. She then threw a complete game a regional championship victory against Belleville West, allowing zero earned runs while collecting 2 hits and 1 RBI. Walker is 21-4 on the season with a 1.23 earned run average in 152 innings pitched. She also is batting .457 with 27 RBI.
