CARROLLTON, Ala. — The Pickens Academy baseball and softball teams had plenty of ways to turn for contributions this season.
Six of the standouts for both teams were recognized recently for their performances with Alabama Independent School Association All-Star awards.
Senior baseball players Joel Pratt and Phil Fikes and juniors Daniel Cameron and Josh Lewis were named to the AISA squads, while seniors Marion Colvin and Elisabeth Hankins were honored for their achievements with the school’s fast-pitch softball team.
Pratt, Fikes, Cameron, and Lewis helped Pickens Academy advance to the second round of the AISA Class A playoffs. Pickens Academy baseball coach Brach White praised the contributions of all four players.
“Phil was a part-time pitcher for us and did a good job as a left-hander,” said White, of the senior first baseman/pitcher. “He helped us in some crucial situations, but he is a real first baseman. He is going to make the plays at first base. He was our best defensive player last year, and he swung the bat well. He struggled toward the end of the season or his average would have been higher. He really hit the ball better than what his average shows.
“Joel Pratt has been a spark plug for our team for the last two or three years. He led the team in hitting last year, too. When Joel does good, our team does good. He is a dynamic player and has done a good job.
“Josh played shortstop and pitched and played outfield for us. Josh came on strong at the plate at the end of the year. I was excited to see that. He is very athletic.”
White also was impressed with the emergence of Cameron, a left-handed pitcher.
“Daniel did a great job on the mound control wise and getting a lot of ground balls and outs,” White said. “He had some success and got more confident as he went. He was a key to us getting some big wins. He swung the bat well and played outfield when he wasn’t pitching.”
Pickens Academy softball coach Wade Goodman, who also coaches the school’s girls basketball team, said the school will dearly miss the efforts of Colvin and Hankins on the diamond and on the basketball court. He said both players were leaders on and off the court.
This season, Hankins hit .293 with two home runs. Colvin hit .333 and had one home run, a triple, and nine doubles. She also was 12-4 with a 3.00 ERA
“Marion was our No. 1 pitcher,” Goodman said. “Kacy Noland was our backup pitcher, and I held her out pitching for a couple of weeks, and that meant Marion had to pitch for two straight weeks about every game and she did it. Marion is a competitor. The same two girls who made All-Stars in basketball made it in softball. Their work ethic is phenomenal. She carried us on her back through two weeks of the season. You can’t ask for much more. When she wasn’t pitching, she was playing shortstop. She also was one of the vocal leaders on the team.
“I had her for three years, and I couldn’t ask for a better student of the game and a girl with a better work ethic than she has. She is very smart, and she has a good work ethic. Her parents have obviously raised her well.”
Hankins didn’t make All-Stars in softball last season. Goodman told her she needed to devote her time to softball, and she responded. In the eighth grade, Goodman said Hankins hit better than .400. Since then, Goodman, who also coaches the school’s girls basketball team, fell in love with basketball. This season, he said she started strong and then picked it back up at the end of the season.
“She is a great defensive player in center field,” Goodman said. “I don’t know if she had an error. She covers a lot of ground out there, and she is another one who if you tell her to do it, she is going to do it. Her parents did a great job.”
Goodman also highlighted the performances of seniors Whitney Lowe, who hit .393 this season, and Meredith McCool, who hit .313. He said they also were deserving of All-Star status but weren’t selected.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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