King named district MVP in softball for second straight season

The Graham Lady Blues softball team was well represented on the District 6-4A all district team. A total of 10 players were honored for their hard work all season long. For the second time in as many years, catcher Nicole King was awarded District MVP for her stellar senior campaign. King led the district with a .359 batting average with 14 RBIs, 16 runs in district play and smashed four long balls during the season. She not only brought fear to the opposing pitcher at the plate but was a force behind the plate, by throwing out seven runners on the base paths. King will take her talents to Kilgore College during the upcoming school year. Graham sophomore pitcher Emma Southerland was named the District 6-4A Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season. District foes will have two more years to look forward to seeing one of the area’s most elite pitchers. Southerland finished the season with an eye-popping ERA of 1.49 to go along with 248 strikeouts. After ending her freshman year with an ERA of 3.20 and 186 punchouts, Southerland made a leap and improved even more this season. Senior Elizabeth Routon, junior Sarah Bundrick and sophomore Alex Husen were named to the first team infield. As the team’s slick-fielding first baseman, Routon proved to be a mainstay in the Graham batting order in the two-hole. Bundrick’s impressive season included a walk-off game-winning hit early in the season against Wichita Falls City View in the Iowa Park Tournament and the eventual decisive winning hit in the eighth inning at Vernon to lift the Lady Blues to another district title. Husen had several big moments including a clutch home run in the later innings during the squad’s district-opener at Iowa Park. Senior Aubree Beggs and junior Tatum Trester were both first team outfield selections. Beggs was among the leaders in Texoma in hits and runs. The senior was a catalyst at the top of the Lady Blues batting order. Beggs often had a keen eye for working the count of the opposing pitcher and getting on base for the middle of the potent Graham batting order. The speedy center fielder will join the Weatherford College softball program in August. Trester proved to be one of the toughest outs in the entire district. Not only did the junior carry a heavy stick with a batting average close to the .500-mark, but she was one of the team’s leaders on and off the field. Perhaps her most memorable moment came back on March 23 against Burkburnett. With both teams locked in a nip-and-tuck ballgame in extra innings, Trester came through. With the game tied at two and the Lady Blues batting, Trester delivered a walk-off double on a 1-2 count. That moment seemed to carry the team, as Graham won eight of their next games from there. For the rest of this story, subscribe to our print or online edition.