Lillian Williams named Lady Pirates softball MVP

Junior third baseman Lillian Williams was named the Granbury Lady Pirates softball team's Most Valuable Player as fans and family gathered Wednesday to honor their athletes at the River View Ranch in Granbury.

Williams led GHS with 19 RBIs, 21 runs scored, an on-base percentage of .585, and she had just four strikeouts in 50 plate appearances while batting .360.

"Lillian just did everything right almost all of the time. She puts in a lot of work outside of school, which I absolutely love. She plays on a select team. Every time she came to bat, I knew I knew she was going to put the ball in play. When a ball got hit to her, I knew she was going to field it."

Williams also picked up the most bruises over the season of the 29 hit-by-pitch plays – she was tagged 16 times.

Freshman catcher Karmyn Williams was selected as the team's Most Valuable Offensive Player after leading GHS in with a .375 batting average that produced 16 RBI. Karmyn was also strong behind the plate, and she led the Lady Pirates with a .969 fielding percentage.

"Our Offensive Player of the Year, this girl, she's a freshman and had one of the highest batting averages on her team. When she came up to bat, I knew she was going to put the ball in play and score. Score our runner. That's what I needed her to do. And she did it all the time," Lefler said.

Like she did to the balls coming her way in center field, Lauren Petty scooped up the Defensive Player of the Year honor after recording 30 put-outs in 39 chances and posting a .857 fielding average.

"Lauren had a super low number of errors," Lefler said. "Anytime the ball got hit to her, I was 'oh good,' it's going to Lauren. She's going to catch it."

The team's Pirate Heart Award was presented to Bailey Stone.

"I'm pretty sure that she only missed one practice. She was always happy and never complained about anything. I don't know how she didn't complain because she was always wearing a sweatshirt even when it was 100 degrees outside. She always had a smile on her face," Lefler said.

Lefler summed up her first season at the helm of the Lady Pirates softball program.

“I don't know if everybody knows all these girls, but they're probably the funniest group I've ever been around," Lefler said. "The chemistry that these girls have is unreal. I've never played on a team, let alone coached a team where everybody got along, and to me, that means more than anything. I mean, these will be lasting friendships that you're going to have, hopefully for the rest of your lives."

Russell@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066 ext. 231