Rylee May had an outstanding senior season with the Brownstown Central softball team.

Individually, she topped the team in several categories, including hits (48), average (.466), RBIs (37), slugging percentage (854), doubles (16) and home runs (8). She also set the school’s career record for home runs with 21.

She had a four-hit game in her final game with the Lady Braves, last Saturday night against top-ranked Cascade in the championship game of the Forest Park Semistate.

On the mound she won nine games and had an ERA of .308 with 62 strike outs and 18 walks.

She also helped the team win the Milan Sectional, and capture its first softball regional in school history at Providence. The Braves also beat Eastern Hancock to advance to the finals of the Forest Park Semistate.

For her body of work, she has been named The Tribune’s Jackson County Player of the year.

May said she started playing softball at age seven or eight, and she has always gone for power.

“Some left-handed batters slap, but I’ve always been a power hitter,” she said. “I look for a pitch down the middle or slightly inside, nothing too high or too low.

“I love the hitting aspect of it. I think it tests your mind to see how you can go to a mental game of striking out or hitting well, going back-and-forth.”

She enjoyed playing with her teammates.

“I like that it is such a large team, so we’ve bonded really well together,” May said. “There are so many of us out there that we all connect really well.”

She said that bonding and teamwork was a factor in the Lady Braves winning their first sectional since 2010 and first regional in school history

May enjoyed her time playing travel softball in the summers.

“I would say travel ball really helped us with the harder, bigger teams,” she said. “When you go to travel ball you see all these bigger girls because we always played up. We always played the harder, more advanced teams to get us ready for the season and things like that.”

She said she had to prepare mentally as well as physically to perform at her best and couldn’t let the weather affect her, like the cold games at the beginning of the season to the hot day games in early June to the rainy conditions the Braves experienced at the semistate.

“I would say a lot of it is a mental game, especially if you make a mistake,” May said. “You pretty much have to get over it because it is a long game ahead, a very long game. You cannot sit and dwell on it.”

Other Brownstown players to make the first team were seniors Kelsey Schneider and Kyndle Huddleston, juniors Kinzee Dean and Brooke Meahl and sophomore Olivia Justice.

Seymour players on the first team are Phoebe Underwood, Taylor Stuckwisch, Zoe Williams and EmmaKae Sweet, and Trinity is represented by Olivia Cain, Grace Lance, Zoey Dulaney and Addi Burcham.

Remaining members of the all-County softball team

Olivia Cain, Sr. (Trinity Lutheran) hit .384, led team in hits (28), RBI (20)

Kyndle Huddleston, Sr. (Brownstown Central) hit .372, 25 hits, 19 RBI, 11 runs

Kelsey Schneider, Sr. (Brownstown Central) hit .354, 34 hits, 14 RBI, led team in ruins (28), pitching led team in wins (10) and strike outs (100), innings (100.2) and had 3.27 ERA

Kinzee Dean, Jr. (Brownstown Central) hit .338, with 27 hits, 21 RBI, 3 home runs, 20 runs

Grace Lance, Jr. (Trinity Lutheran) led team in batting .415, had 22 hits, 10 RBI, 17 runs

Brooke Meahl, Jr. (Brownstown Central) hit .375, had 36 hits, 11 RBI, 22 runs, 8 stolen bases

Phoebe Underwood, Jr. (Seymour) led team in hitting (.354), RBI (12), runs (9) and hits (23), slugging percentage (.508), tied in walks (8), pitching 59.2 innings, 38 strike outs, 4.2 ERA, HHC honorable mention

Olivia Justice, So. (Brownstown Central) hit .278, with 20 hits, 25 RBI, 13 runs, 4 home runs

Taylor Stuckwisch, So. (Seymour) hit .267, had 20 hits, 7 RBI, 6 runs, pitching- led team in innings (74) ERA (3.5) and strike outs (84), HHC honorable mention

Zoe Williams, So. (Seymour) hit .288, 11 RBI, 15 hits, 7 runs

Addi Burcham, Fr. (Trinity Lutheran) hit .279, had 17 hits, 12 RBI, 13 runs

Zoey Dulaney, Fr. (Trinity Lutheran) hit .364, had 13 RBI, led team in runs (21) and doubles (7)

EmmaKae Sweet, Fr. (Seymour) hit .245, 13 hits, 4 RBI, 6 runs

Honorable Mention

Crothersville: Kinsey Martin, Zoey Prince, Grace Walker

Seymour: Diem Castetter, Delaney Warren

Trinity Lutheran: Emerson Warren