Outlaws honor softball players

Last updated Jun 15, 2010 12:0pm0

Dara Kosanke was named Most Valuable Player and Most Outstanding Player for the Sisters High School's softball team during the team's recently held awards night.

The senior, who was also named first team All-State and Sky-Em League Player of the Year, also was honored as a team captain and received Cat Mauldin's Scorekeeper's Award. She was also recognized for setting 10 season and 10 league season school records.

Also honored as a Team Captain was senior Brooklyn Walker.

Other varsity award winners included:

Top Offensive Player: Amber Milliman, .418 batting average, school records for RBI (39), doubles (15), slugging percentage (.725) and home runs (3). First Team all-state;

Top Defensive Player: Taylor Walker. As a catcher she threw out a dozen baserunners and picked off seven others. Also batted .443, drove in 28 runs. First team All-State;

Most Improved: Harley Rowe;

Most Inspirational: Brooklyn Walker and Taylor Walker;

Coaches Awards: Jordan Richerson and McKenzie Cooper;

Scorekeeper's Award: Kosanke and Coach T;

.600 Batting Award: Kosanke (.639 - first in school history to bat over .600);

.400 Batting Honors: T. Walker (.443), Milliman (.418) and Marisa Calavan (.402);

.300 Batting Honors: B. Walker (.326) and Cassie Hernandez (.321).

Players who received varsity letters and 4A State participation awards included: freshmen Quincy Mate, Katie Bellew, Tiffani Milliman, Taylor Nieri and Rowe; sophomores Lauren Chancy, Carly Kreminski and Taylor Walker; juniors Becca Pelham, M.J. Schulte, Zoe Wavrin, Richerson, Calavan, Hernandez, Cooper and Amber Milliman; and seniors Brooklyn Walker and Kosanke.

Coach Rusty Bellew honored his outstanding junior varsity team with Katie Bellew recognized as Team MVP, T. Milliman being named Top Defensive Player and Chancey named Top Offensive Player.

"It was a great year to be an Outlaw," said Mauldin.

Kosanke rewrites softball records

The softball record board at Sisters High School has many categories, ranging from hitting to stolen bases to pitching. When the school updates those records at the end of the 2010 softball season, one name will dominate: Dara Kosanke.

En route to being named the Sky-Em League's Player of the Year, Kosanke has demolished school records for:

• Strikeouts by a pitcher - for the season (228), the league season (111), and in an individual game (14 on two occasions);

• Victories by a pitcher for a season (20) and a league season (10);

• Earned run average for a season and league (1.60 and 0.62);

• Innings pitched for a season (164);

• Shutouts for a season (7) and league (6);

• No-hitters for a season (2) and league (2);

That's only in the pitching department. Offensively, she has blown away most of the schools records:

• Hits in a season (60) and league season (27);

• Runs scored in a season (53) and league season (23);

• Stolen bases in a season (40) and a league season (20);

• On-base percentage for a season and league;

• Consecutive-game hitting streak for season (28) and league (12);

• Games scoring a run for season (27) and league (12).

Maybe it's easier to list the school records she didn't break: doubles, triples, homers and runs batted-in for a season and league season. Junior teammate Amber Milliman gets her name in the record books for those.

Kosanke didn't just break Outlaws softball records, she obliterated them. As a matter of fact, despite playing only her senior season for SHS, she ranks first in career shutouts, second for career pitching victories, second for career strikeouts, second for career runs scored, and fourth for career base hits. Impressive career stats for only one season.

"The best thing about Dara isn't the records she set, it's the way she carries herself on and off the field," said Outlaws coach Tom Mauldin. "The records are just a testament to her abilities, hard work and pride as an athlete. She is among the most coachable athletes I've had the honor of coaching."

Mauldin added, "and she's humble, too. When I told her she had been named Player of the Year for our league, she told me it 'has been a pleasure to be an Outlaw and to be part of such a special team.' Wow. Anyone, everyone, can learn from that."

As for the records, Kosanke says they just happened.

"There hasn't been a single case that I knew I set a record without having to be told later," said Kosanke. "It really just happened and, though it will be quite the honor to have my name up on the record board, I've just been out there doing what I love to do and what I do best."

As to being named the top player in the Sky-Em, she says, "I really wasn't expecting it, much less was I thinking about it. Right now I'm still processing, but what I do know is that I am incredibly flattered. This is such a point of recognition that I haven't quite figured out how to react."

Kosanke, recently named first-team All-State, started playing softball when she was 4. She was good back then as she was "playing up" with the 5-year-olds. She's come a long way since then and any day is expected to announce where she will play college softball. She considers softball a key element to her success as a straight-A student.

"Athletics holds quite the battery of lessons for me, such as work-ethic, focus, dedication, consistency, level-headedness, and the ability to maintain under pressure, how to lose graciously and win humbly, and how to compete," she said.

While she has her on-field goals, her off-the-field goals are just as impressive, as she desires to become a forensic scientist, forensic pathologist, or a police

officer.