Diamond Sport Tigers Populate Award Roster

School has been out for a few weeks but the accolades for Manfield spring athletes keep coming across the wire. Tiger players from the school’s baseball and softball teams filled many postseason awards lists.

Headlining the recently released All-State and All-Star rosters are a multitude of Tiger players accustomed to the diamond shaped fields of play. Kiara Thomas, Brooklyn Adams, Alyson Edwards, Drew Elmore, Trey Vaughan, and Fisher Willsey made such lists in their respective sports.

Thomas, a senior softball player, made the 2022 Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star game. The 2A-4 All-Conference middle infielder will play in the AHSCA summer classic on June 24 in Conway on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas.

Thomas batted .267 and had a 86% fielding average for the conference champions. She was the only senior on the 2022 Lady Tiger roster who were undefeated in district play, and were regional runner-ups as well as state qualifiers.

State softball awards also found Lady Tigers Edwards and Adams. Both earned class 2A All-State honors as determined by voting membership of the 2A-4 Conference.

Edwards, just a sophomore, also had All Region recognition added to her long list of recent success. The battle tested pitcher and power hitter accumulated a 16-7 won loss record with 110.2 innings pitched. She served up 169 strikeouts from the circle and posted a 2.02 ERA.

Defensively, Edwards was perfect in fielding opportunities with 62 out of 62 putouts. On offense, she parked 4 homeruns, and 32 hits with a .479 batting average.

Adams sat behind the plate and occasionally manned third base. Her fielding percentage was 99% produced by a whopping 193 putouts in 195 attempts.

The junior all-around athlete was second in hits with 32. She knocked out 2 homeruns with a .508 batting average.

Both Edwards and Adams were invited to attend the Sophomore/Junior Classic this summer.

For the boys of summer, Elmore, Vaughan, and Willsey were all named Class 2A All-State baseball honorees. Each was nominated and subsequently selected by the voting members of the 2A-4 conference baseball coaches association.

Elmore, a junior on the 2002 Mansfield baseball team, was also the 2A West Region MVP. Listed as a pitcher and outfielder, Elmore pitched 40 innings for 76 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.20. Offensively, the All-State selection finished with a .310 batting average.

Vaughan, a sophomore on last spring’s Tiger baseball team, led the squad with a .523 batting average. Defensively he manned the pitcher’s mound throwing 42.2 innings for a 2.7 ERA. He chalked up 67 strikeouts as the team’s primary closer.

Willsey, another junior baseball player, had a .519 on base percentage with a .446 batting average. Listed as a utility player, the versatile fielder caught behind home plate for much of the season. His fielding percentage was a notable 99.6%.

Other Mansfield players earning recognition for their performances on the diamond fields this past season are listed in the following paragraphs.

The 2A-4 All-Conference softball lists Mansfield products Ambria Whittaker, Trinity Triska, Cole Smith, Harlie Fuller, and Serenity Brunson.

All-Conference and All-Region recognition went to Natalie Allison. All-Conference and All-State Tournament Team rosters display Kynslee Ward.

The 2A-4 All-Conference baseball roster lists Nate Brewer, Zayne Dugan, Braxton Byers, Tyler Turnipseed, Peyton Martin, Trey Vaughan, Winston Allison, and Jaxon Heydenreich. Seniors Dugan and Brewer were nominated for All-Star voting. Dugan made the Class 2A All-State Tournament Team.

Brewer, Byers, Martin, Elmore, and Fisher also populated the 2A West All-Region Team. Mansfield’s senior high baseball teams were the regional champs in 2022 and 2021.

This year’s MHS baseball team finished the season with a 23-5 overall record. They won back to back titles the last two years for the conference round robin schedule and district tournaments. They also qualified for the 2A state tournament for the second consecutive season.

The Lady Tiger softball team finished the season with a 19-8 overall record. They went two rounds deep into this year’s class 2A state tournament. The year before they were the class 2A state runner-ups.