2023 Daily Leader All-Area High School Softball Team
Published 2:30 pm Saturday, June 10, 2023
Maddie Kate Britt, Loyd Star
An eighth grader, Britt batted for a .378 average at the plate in 2023. An infielder, she drove in 27 runs for coaches Scott and Denise Leggett. Britt smacked five doubles for the Region 7-2A champion Hornets who made the MHSAA 2A championship series.
Abby Burnette, Loyd Star
A junior, Burnett was second on the team this season with a .429 average. An infielder, she drove in 36 runs, hit nine doubles and two home runs. Struck out just four times in 124 plate appearances for coaches Scott and Denise Leggett. An MAC All-Star game selection and three-time All-Area pick, she’s verbally committed to sign with Co-Lin.
Kenslie Carter, Wesson
A seventh grader, Carter batted .392 this season and led the Cobras with a team high 29 hits. An infielder for coach Michelle Nunnery, she led the team in doubles with seven and triples with three while adding one home run as well. She drove in 24 runs and scored a team best 40 runs and was also hit by a pitch seven times, more than any other Cobra.
Caitilin Case, Enterprise
A freshman, Case hit for a .516 batting average for Enterprise coach Alicia Smith. An infielder, she led the Yellow Jackets with 47 hits as they reached the third round of the MHSAA 1A playoffs. Case hit nine doubles, three triples, one home run and stole 15 bases in 2023. Case finished second on the team with 27 RBIs.
Morgan Chemin, Brookhaven Academy
A freshman, Chemin put up a .385 average at the plate for the MAIS 5A state champion Cougars. An infielder, she led the team with a .719 slugging percentage. An All-Area selection last season at Enterprise, she led the Cougars with six home runs. Also hit 10 doubles, two triples and drove in 26 runs for coach Lisa Covington.
Harleigh Clark, Enterprise
A junior, Clark led the Yellow Jackets with a team best .523 batting average. Posted 46 hits while playing in the outfield and drove in a team high 31 runs for coach Alicia Smith. Scored a team high 37 runs for an Enterprise squad that finished 21-10. Clark hit nine doubles, six triples and two home runs this season.
Lyric Hooker, Lawrence County
A junior, Hooker batted for a .357 average at the plate in 2023 for Lawrence County and coach Alexandria Harris. An outfielder, she stole seven bases, hit two home runs, three doubles and four triples for the 4A Cougars.
Mary Claire Johnson, West Lincoln
A senior, Johnson batted for a .306 average in 2023 for a West Lincoln squad that reached the second round of the MHSAA 2A playoffs. She drove in 18 runs while hitting six doubles, two triples and two home runs for coach Anita Thornton.
Sasha King, Brookhaven Academy
A senior, King hit for a .347 average this season in helping lead the Cougars to a second straight MAIS state title. A catcher who’s signed to next play at Southwest Mississippi CC, she drove in 24 runs for coach Lisa Covington while earning All-MAIS honors. Also hit five doubles and two home runs after coming back from an injury that forced her to sit out her junior season.
Alyssa Leggett, Loyd Star
A senior, Leggett batted for a .379 average while hitting nine doubles, two triples and a team high three home runs. A catcher who’s signed with Southwest Mississippi CC, she’s a three-time All-Area selection. In 2023, Leggett led Loyd Star with 37 RBIs while playing her final season under the direction of her parents, Scott and Denise.
Deanna Lofton, West Lincoln
A senior, Lofton led West Lincoln in most offensive categories as she sported a .438 batting average. Led West Lincoln in RBIs with 32 while also scoring a team best 37 runs. Lofton also topped the Bears roster with nine doubles and had one triple as well. An infielder for coach Anita Thornton, Lofton struck out just five times while making a team high 96 plate appearances.
Macy Loy, Wesson
A freshman, Loy was second on the team for coach Michelle Nunnery with a .394 batting average. She tied for second on the team with 28 hits on a Wesson squad that won Region 7-3A. Hit one double, one triple and drove in 18 runs for the Cobras while playing as an infielder.
Bailey Parks, Brookhaven Academy
A sophomore, Parks posted a .385 average at the plate for the MAIS 5A state champion Cougars. An All-MAIS selection, Parks batted leadoff and played in the infield for coach Lisa Covington. Second on the team with 40 hits, she hit seven doubles and drove in 19 runs.
Kylie Pittman, Bogue Chitto
An eighth grader, Pittman has stepped in to become the number one pitcher on the Bogue Chitto staff for coach Candace McDowell. With no seniors on the roster this season, Pittman was given the ball in nearly every start for a BC team that made the MHSAA 2A playoffs.
Mallory Sanders, Wesson
A junior, Sanders led Wesson at the plate with a best .528 batting average. Smacked six doubles, and four home runs for coach Michelle Nunnery. An MAC All-Star game selection, she drove in a team best 37 RBIs. As a pitcher, she sported a 3.62 ERA and struck out 223 batters in 2023.
Terra Vining, Enterprise
A freshman, Vining batted for a .422 average while making a team high 117 plate appearances for the Yellow Jackets. Of her 46 hits for coach Alicia Smith, 14 went for doubles, the most on the team. Also hit three triples and one home run while driving in 25 runs. An infielder and pitcher, Vining struck out 41 batters in 37.2 innings of work.
Miriam Wallace, Brookhaven Academy
A freshman, Wallace led the Cougars with a .420 average while earning All-MAIS honors in 2023. A starter on the back-to-back title teams for Brookhaven Academy, Wallace drove in a team high 30 runs while hitting 11 doubles and one triple for coach Lisa Covington.
Whitney Grace Whittington, West Lincoln
An eighth grader, Whittington shined in the pitching circle for the Bears and coach Anita Thornton. She threw a team high 103.2 innings and posted a 2.09 ERA while striking out 135 and walking 35 batters. At the plate, Whittington posted a .308 average with 16 RBIs and one triple.
Angel “Cookie” Wilkinson, Brookhaven High
A senior, Wilkinson finished her career as a Panther with a .484 batting average for coach Mandy Vinson. The Tallahassee Community College basketball signee only struck out four times in 76 plate appearances. Wilkinson socked seven doubles, two triples and one home run while scoring 30 runs and producing 21 RBIs for Brookhaven High.
Natalie Williams, Enterprise
A sophomore, Williams posted a .478 batting average and hit a team high seven triples in 2023. An infielder for coach Alicia Smiht, she drove in 26 runs. Williams also hit eight doubles and three home runs for the Yellow Jackets.