Ten selected for All-State softball teams
Last week Miracle Sports, considered the “official website of Florida high school softball,” published the lists of All-State softball players for the 2021 season.
In Florida Class 1A softball, six players from Wewahitchka and four from Port St. Joe were recognized. All grade levels in the story reflect their status in the upcoming 2021-22 school year.
To no one’s surprise who knows anything about high school softball, Wewa’s stellar pitcher Haley Guffey was selected on the first team. A threat both in the circle and at the plate, the senior finished the season with a 20-4 record, 22 complete games, 256 K’s and only 21 walks issued.
As a batter, Guffey also put up All-State numbers with a .468 batting average, 26 runs batted in and an OPS (on base and slugging percentages) of 1.335 and a team-leading 36 hits.
Kylie Parker, another senior from Wewa, earned third team honors at her center field position, scoring 22 runs, with 22 hits, and 13 stolen bases while having a .297 batting average and an OPS of .868.
Four other Wewa players made Honorable Mention: Seniors Morgann Mayhann and Katie Shealy, sophomore Ashley Thompson, and junior Madison Forehand.
From her catcher position, Mayhann ended the year with a .997 fielding percentage along with her 19 hits as the primary battery mate for Guffey.
Shealy, who made only one error as the team’s shortstop, contributed 23 hits, 17 runs, and 15 stolen bases (in 15 attempts) for the Final Four Gators.
The speedy Thompson batted .306 with 22 hits, 16 runs, and 18 stolen bases while holding down the hot corner at third base on defense.
Forehand, an outfielder, was a force at the plate with a .333 average, 23 hits, 22 runs scored, and a .910 slugging percentage.
Port St. Joe, who will welcome incoming coach Lissa Walker for the 2021-22 season, has four girls on the Honorable Mention list: Seniors Erica Ramsey and Megan Saleh, junior Kali Austerman, and eighth grader Elli Newman.
Ramsey, behind the plate for most of the Sharks’ games, batted .420 with an OPS of 1.138 and scored 19 runs. When not catching, Ramsey occupied third base, finishing the season with a fielding percentage of .975.
Mostly playing third, Saleh scored 14 runs with an on-base percentage of .415. Hampered with a knee injury suffered nearly two months ago, she underwent a surgical procedure earlier this week to correct any remaining issues so she can start rehabilitation and be ready for her final year on the softball field.
The team’s shortstop, Austerman displayed her talents at the plate with a team-leading 28 hits while scoring 23 runs and batting in 22. She also led the Sharks with a 1.333 OPS.
The fourth Shark selection, Elli Newman, played first base as a seventh grader. She had 14 runs batted in and scored 15 runs.
Congratulations to these local players for their being honored, and Gulf County softball fans anticipate further success for them on the diamond during the 2022 season.
Have a sports story? Contact Ken Paulk at kenpaulk750@gmail.com.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.