Ardmore pitcher Sydney Hall delivers a pitch to the plate against Mortimer Jordan in the Class 5A state tournament. Hall was named the Limestone County softball Player of the Year in a vote of area coaches.

It was no surprise when the votes were tabulated just who the Limestone County softball Player of the Year was.

Ardmore pitcher Sydney Hall earned that distinction with her outstanding pitching this season, helping lead the Tigers to the Class 5A state tournament for the third consecutive year.

Hall, a rising senior, finished the season with 28 wins and a 1.56 earned run average. She had 278 strikeouts and just 34 walks in 225 innings pitched and held opposing batters to a .202 batting average.

Hall worked with her pitching coach between her sophomore and junior years to change her pitching delivery. She developed a delivery with a much more prominent knee bend, which gave her more power in her pitches.

It worked out, as Hall increased her strikeout total from 146 last season to 278 this season. While she did pitch 15 more innings this season than last, her strikeout per inning total went from 0.70 to 1.24.

Her finest performance came in the championship game of the Class 5A North Regional tournament in Florence. She pitched a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts in Ardmore’s 4-0 victory over Sardis that sent the Tigers to the state tournament.

Ardmore coach Stephen Baugh was effusive in his praise of his pitcher.

“I can’t say enough good things about her,” Baugh said before the state tournament. “She’s the real deal, she’s legit. There’s a reason that when she’s on the field, we play so well.”

Hall pitched the vast majority of Ardmore’s innings the past two seasons, and will do so again next year as a senior. But you won’t find her complaining.

“I love pitching so much,” Hall said. “If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t be doing it. I started pitching lessons whenI was 9, so I’ve been doing it for a long time. I love being the one in the middle with the game in my hand.”

The rest of the Limestone County All-County Softball Team is as follows:

First Team

Maddie Hodges — Ardmore

L.B. Smith — Ardmore

Anslee Gordon — Clements

Jenny Trent — Clements

Mallory Jo Mitchell — East Limestone

Kaci Sharp — East Limestone

Haven Kirby — Elkmont

Sydney Pressnell — Elkmont

Hannah Usery — Elkmont

Raegan Clem — West Limestone

Second Team

Madison Lewis — Ardmore

Olivia Crouch — East Limestone

Rylie Grisham — East Limestone

Abby Gooch — Elkmont

Alyssa Harwell — Elkmont

Paisley Thatch — Tanner

Taryn Hall — Tanner

Madelyn Craig — Tanner

Jayla Walton — Tanner

Allison Perry — West Limestone

Honorable Mention

Olivia Stafford — Ardmore

Bo Riley — Ardmore

Sarah Jo Moss — Clements

Michelle Trent — Clements

Cassidy Sowell — East Limestone

Brilee Miller — Elkmont

Paige Robinson — Elkmont

Raegan Moran — Tanner

Bella Birdsong — West Limestone

Chloe Hopkins — West Limestone