2012 Miss Softball Candidates

[led1247]

Who are the 2012 Candidates? Alex Kotter (Vincennes Lincoln) deserves strong consideration. I know players from southern indiana don't receive much publicity....but this kid deserves any accolades that come her way. She is a natural shorstop that hits with power and for average. She is the best late inning...close game hitter I have ever seen.

[bucketfan]

Alex Kotter is a very good player and certainly deserves consideration, but how can you not give the Miss Softball award to Brooke Boetjer? She has only lost one game in the last 2 years and is probably odds on favorite to win her 2nd State Title in the last 2 years. She is also a very good hitter.

[3Bar]

I have had the pleasure of watching both Brooke Boetjer and Alex Kotter play travel ball. Either one would represent Indiana's Miss Softball well. If I had a vote, I would go with Alex Kotter. She may not have participated on a state championship team. But from what I read, she is on pace to break both Indiana's state record for Career Hits and Career Batting Avg.

[Starfire]

Boetjer has an awesome resume of success and I have seen her play some, Fabulous!

I have watched Kotter play even more and she is an absolute beast, and by beast I mean Fabulous!

This would be the best year for the 2012 Miss Softball award to be shared.

Next co-Miss Softballs could be Erin Rethlake and Brittany Gray in 2014.

[Bake]

I am sure all of the players mentioned here on HeyBucket are worthy of the title of Indiana Miss Softball 2012. I have one more candidate, Andrean High School's Nicole Steinbach (Pitcher), Steinbach has a career record 0f 47-6, thus far this season she is 12-1 with an era of 0.23, 148K's in just 92 innings. In 2011 Nicole led the Andrean 59'ers to the 3A State Championship game. Steinbach has already signed to play her college ball for coach Craig Nicholson at Ball State, coach Nicholson said "Nicole is the premier pitcher in the state of Indiana in her class." Nicole plays travel for Team Indiana. If I had a vote for Miss Softball 2012 it would go to Nicole Steinbach!!!!

[gunshy]

Brooke Boetjer has a resume of success and a 4 year body of work that is top notch in High School. She also has played on the National level since 12u and achieved similiar success against the best competition. Almost every year there are outstanding position players worthy of Miss Softball, but in years when there are lights-out pitchers like Brooke Boetjer dominating the opposition this award has a history of going to the pitcher. Given the torrid pace Brooke is on right now, the vote shouldn't be close.

[led1247]

It seems most would agree that this year's award has become a two player race.... Brooke Boetjer and Alex Kotter. I know Brooke has had a wonderful season and career. Recently she just blanked a strong hitting Carmel lineup on 3 hits. I would like to make sure everyone knows what Alex has done this year and in her career.

This year Alex has hit .672....an impressive end to a career in which she hit over .600 all 4 years of high school. Her career batting average is .628. According to the ICGSA record book updated through 2009 this would be the best batting average all time... eclipsing the previous mark of .579 by 49 points.

http://165.139.150.129/fleming/ICGSA/IC ... ecords.htm

[sballfan]

Don't have a horse in this race so just an observation after watching how this particular award is handed out every year. Nearly every year you could probably make a case for sharing the Miss Softball award. Last year could have been shared by two if not three girls. Pitchers typically get the edge which is why many states give two awards, a pitcher and a position player. Obviously if you have an outstanding pitcher who is also an outstanding hitter, they will get consideration over a pitcher who's stats are equally dazzling but doesn't hit. Sometimes having a stellar senior season helps as well but the players entire body of work is also taken into consideration which can offset a bad year. The fact that only those coaches who are in attendance at the North South All Star game can vote also hinders the process. Guess what I'm saying is that in a equal world, each class would have their own Miss Softball to level the playing field a bit. There's no perfect system and any girl who earns it has worked hard for the honor but just hate to hear the stories from friends who are coaches telling me about the "deals" that are made at the meetings. I suppose that's why I'm partial to the Gatorade Player of the Year awards. Each individual is identified by an unbiased committee and put through the application process. All in all their system works really well but would never fly in the political climate that is high school sports. Best of luck to all the hardworking girls out there, whether they get an award or not!

[gunshy]

The deal making, especially in the All-Star process is nauseating. The problem is, though, the system is set up where only attending ICGSA member coaches vote and they are voting on many kids they have never seen play. Those attending coaches lobby and market their players to their fellow coaches, as the system forces them to do. I have seen some of the flyers coaches hand out at the meetings.......full color printed brochures for their players that are like profile sheets used at college exposure tournaments. Very impressive and I am sure quite an advantage to the players who receive that benefit. A lot is made of being selected to the All-Star team and it is just too bad that a significant portion of players really have no chance at this distinction due to having coaches that are not members of ICGSA, having coaches who don't attend the meetings and lobby for them vigorously or play for small rural schools outside the media centers of their districts who don't play the larger schools.

[bucketboy]

Well said sballfan and gunshy. Agree with both of you.

I know when my DD was named Miss Softball I had several parents come up to me and say their coach asked them or their daughter which of the 5 candidates to vote for on the ride down etc.....Even though she played here in Indy and got plenty of press there were still high school coaches in various parts of the state that voted for her only because the player that played for them had competed against her at the travel level and told the coach to vote for her. Not a perfect system in anyway and politics do factor in as we have seen in years where the Gatorade Player of the year and Miss Softball are two different young ladies.

It is what it is but receiving either award will certainly look good on a resume when they are out looking for a job after college.