Salazar named POY

Washington’s Leighton Salazar has been named co-Player of the Year in the Southeast Conference for the 2023 high school softball season. Salazar splits the honor with Burlington freshman Saydee Plummer.

Salazar earned her spot atop the conference by hitting an insane .550 this season. She had a .593 on base percentage. Both of those numbers are tops in the league.

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Salazar, a freshman, hit leadoff for a Washington team, which finished second in the league this season and finished the year ranked in the Class 3A poll.

Another top-of-the-order batter for Washington made the first team, as sophomore Ella Greiner was named to the All-SEC First-Team along with Salazar.

Greiner not only hit .475 this year, but also coled the Demons with five home runs and led the team with 39 RBIs.

The third Demon first team name was eighth-grader Colbie Greiner. Greiner stepped into the lineup and hit .347 this season, which was third-best on the team. She tied her sister Ella for first on the squad with five home runs, and finished second, with 37 RBIs.

Greiner was also a solid pitcher for the Demons this season, going 5-2 with a 3.39 ERA.

Making the All-SEC second team for the Demons were sophomores Lauren Hinrichsen and Isabella Salazar. Senior Haley Mitchell and junior Emery Walton both made the honorable mention list.

Fairfield ace Coty Engle finished her senior season with a first team nod. Engle led the Trojans at the plate and in the circle to earn Fairfield a third-place finish.

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At the plate, Engle led the team with a .390 ERA and scored 30 runs, which was seven more than the second-best Trojan. She hit five doubles and two triples.

In the circle, Engle finished the year 10-8 with a 3.09 ERA. She went into the triple digits for strikeouts, with 103.

Fairfield junior Savannah Hollander and sophomore Olivia Hollander each made the All-SEC second team. Senior Morgan Amendt and sophomore Laney Norris were named to the honorable mention list.

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Mt. Pleasant had one player named on the All-SEC second team, as junior Emma Starr made the list. Freshmen Addison Clark and Kynlee White were both honorable mentions.

ALL-SEC FIRST TEAM: Kylee Hill (8), Burlington; Saydee Plummer (11), Burlington; Kierah Wiseman (10), Burlington; Aubrey Hesler (9), Burlington; Coty Engle (12), Fairfield; Leighton Salazar (9) Washington; Ella Greiner (10), Washington; Colbie Greiner (8), Washington; Rachel Moore (12), Keokuk; Ada Wood (10), Keokuk; Neely Rehm (12), Fort Madison; Erika Kruse (12), Fort Madison; Lauren Helmick (11), Fort Madison.

SEC CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: Saydee Plummer (11), Burlington; Leighton Salazar (9), Washington.

ALL-SEC SECOND TEAM: Hannah Heuvelmann (11), Burlington; Lilly Hand (8), Burlington; Lauren Hinrichsen (10), Washington; Isabella Salazar (10), Washington; Suzie Whitaker (10), Keokuk; Emma Starr (11), Mt. Pleasant; Savannah Hollander (12); Olivia Hollander (10), Fairfield; Emily Steffensmeier (12), Fort Madison; Elizabeth Tanner (11), Fort Madison.

All-SEC HONORABLE MENTION: Sophie Brown (10), Burlington; Ava Fawcett (8), Burlington; Haley Mitchell (12), Washington; Emery Walton (11), Washington; Gabrielle Ruble (11), Fort Madison; Kylie Lumio (8), Fort Madison; Addison Clark (9), Mt. Pleasant; Kynlee White (9), Mt. Pleasant; Morgan Amendt (12), Fairfield; Laney Norris (10), Fairfield; Gracie Thompson (10), Keokuk; Brylee Balentine (9), Keokuk.

ALL-SEC ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE

Burlington: Hannah Huevelman, Emily Mosley, Saydee Plummer and Madison Taeger.

Fairfield: Coty Engle, Emerson Manley and Morgan Amendt.

Keokuk: Rachel Moore.

Fort Madison: Gabrielle Ruble, Emily Steffensmeier, Lauren Helmick and Taylor Johnson.

Mt. Pleasant: Hailey Parrott, Emma Starr, Jersey Beachy, Jayden Housh and Ella McNamee.

Washington: Jenna Bose, Tyler Libe and Haley Mitchell.