Published: June 12, 2009 05:15 pm      

Miss Softball — 06/13/09

Rowan County star ends high school career being the best

That Rowan County High School senior Amber Riddle was named Miss Softball 2009 as the best player in Kentucky should surprise no one. In fact, with the kind of numbers she put up this year and throughout her career at Rowan County, it would have been a real shocker if some other player had been named Miss Softball.

In a game that is often dominated by pitching, Riddle compiled the kind of offensive statistics that were akin to those from the time when high school girls in Kentucky played slow-pitch softball.

During her senior year, Riddle hit .610, slammed 17 home runs and drove in 64 runs. Her offense carried the Lady Vikings to the finals of the 16th Region.

For a career that began when Riddle was a seventh-grader, she shattered the state record with 55 home runs, the second most of any high school player in the country. She also holds the state record with 92 career doubles and 259 RBIs. No doubt her numbers would be even more impressive had she not missed her entire eighth-grade season because of knee surgery

While calling Riddle “the best I’ve ever seen,” Rowan County softball coach Larry Slone emphasizes that Riddle is more than just a great softball player. She also is an “outstanding person. It’s been wonderful for me to coach her, and she’s been a wonderful teammate to all that played with her.”

While her playing days for Rowan County High have ended, folks in Morehead and northeastern Kentucky will have plenty of opportunities to see Riddle play in the years ahead. She has signed a letter of intent to play softball for Morehead State University.

Riddle has gotten a little better each year. As she advances to the next level, it will be interesting to see just how much she improves in college.

We congratulate Riddle on being named the state’s best player by the state softball coaches association. We suspect she won by a landslide.