12 Montgomery County Softball Players Named All-State By TSWA

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX — The Woodlands’ Kayla Falterman and Lake Creek’s Ava Brown received first-team nods as 12 Montgomery County athletes were named to the 2021 Texas Sports Writers Association All-State Softball Team over the weekend.

Falterman, a senior who will play at Louisiana-Lafayette next season, made the Class 6A first team as a second baseman, while sophomore slugger Brown was the first baseman on the 5A first team.

Falterman batted .515 with seven triples, scored 67 runs and batted in another 35 in helping lead the Highlanders to the 6A Region II semifinals, where they fell to Bryan. Falterman also went a perfect 50 for 50 in stolen base attempts.

Brown was prolific at the plate, leading the Lions in batting average (.591), on-base percentage (.609), slugging percentage (1.243), doubles (22), home runs (17) and RBIs (65). She notched 40 extra-base hits and had an astronomical 1.853 OPS. Brown also was stellar in the circle. She went 16-0 with a 0.92 ERA and 0.38 WHIP in 83 1/3 innings pitched, striking out 165 batters, almost two per inning.

Lake Creek fell to eventual state champion Barbers Hill in the 5A Region III final but not before putting together the best season in the program’s short history. The Lions won 38 straight games to open the season before dropping both games to the Eagles and came up just short of the school’s first appearance at the state softball tournament. Lake Creek is 53-3 over the last two seasons, which includes the coronavirus-shortened 2020 campaign.

Related: Lake Creek Puts Four On TGCA All-State Softball Team

The Woodlands outfielder Alannah Leach and designated player Jordan Jones received second-team nods in 6A. Leach hit .505 with six doubles, five triples and 41 RBI while swiping 24 bases in her sophomore season, while Jones wrapped up her senior season hitting .367 with a .461 on-base percentage, four doubles and 30 stolen bases.

The Woodlands sophomores Kiara Wiedenhaupt and Gabby Leach received honorable mention at catcher and outfield, respectively.

College Park senior Ariel Gomez was an outfield pick on the third team, and her Cavaliers teammate, senior catcher Kaitlyn Corn, was honorable mention.

Lake Creek pitcher Emiley Kennedy was named to the 5A second team after a standout senior season. Kennedy, who will play at Texas A&M next season, had a 0.19 ERA and 201 strikeouts in 106 innings pitched, notching a 17-2 record with four saves. She rarely allowed batters to reach with a .082 batting average against and a 0.53 WHIP. Kennedy also had a strong year at the plate, hitting .398 with 13 home runs and 37 RBIs.

Lake Creek second baseman Caelee Clark and third baseman Madelyn Lopez were honorable mentions.

Magnolia West senior pitcher Toni Tamborello was a third-team selection in 5A.

State champions swept the superlatives on the 5A and 6A all-state teams.

Barbers Hill coach Aaron Fuller and senior pitcher Sophia Simpson, a Texas signee, were named the 5A coach and player of the year. Deer Park coach Amy Vidal-Bush and senior pitcher Hannah Benavides, who will play at Abilene Christian, won the awards in 6A.