La Conner polishes off diamond season with honors

It’s no secret diamonds have value.

Same with the players who toil upon them.

And, in the case of NW2B baseball and softball ranks, the most valuable players happen to wear La Conner High uniforms.

The two pitchers who hurled La Conner teams to the top of league standings and into postseason each garnered MVP honors in recent balloting among NW2B programs.

Max Miller, who went 10-1 with 99 strikeouts in 65 innings, was named the league’s Most Valuable Player on its baseball side. The softball MVP award was garnered by Olivia Hedlund, who fanned 114 batters and hit a robust .549 for the Lady Braves.

For each — and La Conner High fans — the best is likely yet to come. Both are juniors and are due to return for the 2016 campaign.

They’ll have plenty of support as well.

Miller will be joined by a solid nucleus of returnees, including first team All-League infielders Cameron Hansen and Logan James.

All-NW2B second teamer Preston Stewart will also be back for the Braves, along with catcher James Hulbert, who received All-League Honorable Mention recognition.

The Braves will lose to graduation All-League second unit selection Taylor Swanson, who both pitched and patrolled the outfield, plus NW2B Honorable Mention pick Erick Reinstra, another versatile player able to handle mound duties while providing power to the La Conner lineup.

The Braves, under head coach Jeremiah LeSourd, reeled off 13 straight wins at one point and went 17-5 overall, wrapping up with a 7-5 loss to Adna at Regionals.

Hedlund will miss batterymate Emma Christianson, the league’s first-team catcher, who closed out her La Conner career with a home run and three RBIs in the Lady Braves’ District Tournament finale against Friday Harbor.

Christianson led La Conner with 29 hits, compiling a .516 batting average and 32 runs scored.

Defensive specialist Lexi Nelson, a stalwart in the Lady Braves outfield, also graduates.

“I’ll truly miss our two seniors,” says La Conner mentor Peg Seeling, who was voted NW2B co-Coach of the Year with Darrington’s Sue Howard. “I really want to thank Emma and Lexi for the leadership they provided this season.”

Helping off-set their departures will be the return of All-League first team choice Le Anne Swan, who blasted a triple and a single and drove home three tallies in La Conner’s District Tournament win over Concrete.

Ashley Watkins, Elizabeth Tripp, and Sarah McCormack — each of whom was tabbed for the All-NW2B second unit — should likewise be standouts for the Lady Braves in ‘16.

Watkins recorded 88 put-outs and seven assists at first base with a .990 fielding percentage. Tripp went two-for-three with a double in the District title game opposite Friday Harbor, while McCormack delivered a two-bagger and a single against the Lady Wolverines.

In related notes:

• Seeling is also looking forward to the return next year of reliever Kahneesah Casey, who struck out a pair of Concrete batters in the District opener, and Chloe Fullington, who ripped a double in the same game.

• Nelson lined a single and a double and drove in a run in her final appearance for the Lady Braves, who finished with a 14-8 ledger.

• “This wasn’t how we hoped to end the season,” Seeling said after the 10-6 loser-out setback to Friday Harbor, “but the girls never gave up and battled to the end. We just lost to a better opponent on that day.”