Poll results: Freeburg pitcher selected BND Softball Player of the Year in southwest IL
.JPG "Freeburg’s Samantha Roulanaitis delivers a pitch during the IHSA Class 2A Althoff Regional championship game against Breese Central. For her performance this spring, Roulanaitis was voted as the Belleville News-Democrat’s 2023 Softball Player of the Year, as selected by readers of bnd.com.")
Samantha Roulanaitis of Freeburg High School is the winner of the Belleville News-Democrat’s 2023 Softball Player of the Year high school poll, as selected by readers of bnd.com.
Roulanaitis finished the season with a 26-2 record and a 0.97 earned run average, striking out 279 batters and allowing just 23 walks and 95 hits in 174 innings pitched over 30 games. Of note, she threw a no-hitter in the IHSA Class 2A regional championship game against Breese Central and a perfect game against Columbia in the sectional championship game.
At the plate, Roulanaitis — who secured 46% of the votes — hit .621 with 9 home runs and 57 RBI while posting a slugging percentage of 1.097 for the Midgets, who finished 33-2 while reaching the super-sectional round.
Here were the other 2023 Softball Player of the Year candidates:
- Alexis Bond, Father McGivney High School, senior, 1B. Bond hit .500 with 8 homers and 42 RBI this spring while posting an on base percentage of .589 and a slugging percentage of .987 for the Griffins, who went 7-20.
- Valerie Combs, Nashville High School, senior, C. Combs hit .456 this spring with 9 home runs, 28 RBI and 41 runs scored. She also stole 16 bases for the Hornets, who went 16-14 this spring.
- Maggie Grohmann, Highland High School, senior, 1B. Grohmann hit .456 with 9 homers and 29 RBI this spring while posting an on base percentage of .500 and a slugging percentage of .807. Grohmann’s efforts helped the Bulldogs reach the IHSA Class 3A sectional semifinals and finish 24-8-1.
Avery Hamilton, Edwardsville High School, senior, SS/P. Hamilton hit .452 with 5 homers and 31 RBI this spring while posting an on base percentage of .485 and a slugging percentage of .766. On the mound, Hamilton went 15-3 with a 1.43 earned run average, while striking out 131 batters and allowing just 68 hits in 102 innings pitched for the Tigers, who reached the IHSA Class 4A sectional championship game and finished 30-7.
Olivia Hemmerle, Belleville East High School, sophomore, P/UT. Hemmerle went 9-1 this spring with a 1.16 earned run average, while striking out 74 batters and allowing just 31 hits in 66 innings pitched. Hemmerle also batted .441 with 4 RBI this spring, while posting an on base percentage of .500 and a slugging percentage of .441 in helping the Lancers advance to the IHSA Class 4A sectional semifinals and finish 27-8-1.
Lyla Hess, Red Bud High School, junior, C. Hess batted .504 this season and collected 58 hits including 17 doubles, 5 triples and 3 home runs. She scored 42 runs and had 42 RBI. Her 58 hits set a new program record for hits in a season. According to coach Brian Boeving, this season Hess broke the career records for hits (138), runs (98), doubles (35), triples (11), RBI (83) and stolen bases (50). She also caught nearly 200 innings and had a fielding percentage of 99%, committing only 2 errors all season. Additionally, Boeving noted Hess was voted to the ICA 2A All-State First Team for 2023, as well as a member of the Cahokia Conference - Illinois Division All Conference Team in ‘21, ‘22, and ‘23.
- Mia Miller, Waterloo High School, junior, P/IF. Miller went 11-7 this spring with a 1.33 earned run average, while striking out 231 batters and allowing just 78 hits in 126 innings pitched. Miller’s efforts helped the Bulldogs reach the IHSA Class 3A sectional championship game and finish 19-13.
- Malia Robertson, O’Fallon High School, senior, CF. Robertson batted .531 with 4 homers and 14 RBI this spring while posting an on base percentage of .610 and a slugging percentage of .922 for the Panthers, who went 11-17.
The poll ended at 8 a.m. Friday.
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. Our next Player of the Week polls will appear after fall sports commence!
Previous winners: Aubrey Weaver of Belleville West High School; Olivia Anderson of Belleville West High School; Brooke Goetter of Lebanon High School; Malia Robertson of O’Fallon High School; Samantha Roulanaitis of Freeburg High School; Olivia Hemmerle of Belleville East High School; Lilly Heck of Waterloo High School; and Grace Oertle of Edwardsville High School.
This story was originally published June 19, 2023 at 6:00 AM.