The most valuable player of the 2011 Lemon Sisters’ Cafe and Bakery All-Johnson County softball team is Burleson sophomore Erika Menchaca.
The teams and the superlative awards were determined by the Times-Review’s sports department based on all-district selections and coaches’ nominations.
Menchaca was joined by several of her teammates and her head coach in the superlative selections.
Fellow Burleson sophomore Sam Montes was named the pitcher of the year, sophomore Mallory Foster was named the offensive player of the year, freshman Holly Milam was named the newcomer of the year and Burleson head coach Perry Young was named the coach of the year after the Lady Elks advanced to the regional finals.
Cleburne’s Jessie Richardson was named the defensive player of the year after her senior season with the Lady Jackets.
Young said his team has a lot of talent heading into next season.
“We’ve got a couple of freshmen coming up who have a lot of speed, so that’ll help us improve our defense,” he said. “We’re setting expectations pretty high.
“Anything less than a state championship is a failure in our eyes.”
Menchaca batted .500 with 56 hits and 20 doubles to go with 43 RBIs.
Montes was 32-5 on the mound with a 1.71 ERA and a .411 batting average. She blasted eight home runs and had 42 RBIs.
Foster batted .541 in the playoffs, and finished the season with 54 hits.
Milam had the team’s highest batting average at .580 and had 51 hits.
Every superlative winner for the Lady Elks will be back next season. Burleson went 14-0 in District 7-4A play to win the district title and advanced past San Angelo Lake View, Azle, Aledo and Canyon Randall in the playoffs before falling to perennial power Waco Midway in the regional finals.
Burleson spent much of the year ranked in the top five of the state polls.
Richardson helped lead Cleburne to a fifth-place finish in 2011 after the Lady Jackets finished in second-to-last place in District 16-4A last year.
Baseball and Softball
Related Photos
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Pictured, from left, are Burleson’s Erika Menchaca (most valuable player), Burleson’s Sam Montes (pitcher of the year), Burleson’s Mallory Foster (offensive player of the year), Burleson’s Perry Young (coach of the year), Cleburne’s Jessie Richardson (defensive player of the year) and Burleson’s Holly Milam (newcomer of the year). David Beans/Special to the Times-Review
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Lady Elks lead awards stampede
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