2019

COURIER

JOURNAL

AWARDS

Skaggs named Softball Player of the Year

2019 Region 7 All Tournament Team

Allie Skaggs

2019 District 28 All-Tournament Team

Allie Skaggs

Sydney Martin

Skylar Lee

Congratulations to 2018 Za'Kiya Sizemore on your decision to play college softball at Lindsey Wilson College!

Allie Skaggs named to the 

MaxPreps 2018 Sophomore

All-American Team

Alivia Sinnott and Madison Alexander 

representing Ballard at the East West All Start weekend at EKU

Congratulations to Alivia for being selected by the coaches to represent Kentucky All-Stars when they face the Tennessee All-Stars!

2018 Region 7 All Tournament Team

Allie Skaggs

Shelby Kelley

Za'Kiya Sizemore

COACH

ALAN JONES

2018

Region 7

Coach of the Year

ALLIE SKAGGS

2018

Region 7

Player of the Year

2018 District 28 All Tournament Team

Alivia Sinnott

Madison Alexander

Shelby Kelley

Congratulations to 2018 Shelby Kelley on her decision to play college softball at Clemson University!

Applauding our 2018 Madison Alexander on her verbal commitment to continue playing softball at Missouri Valley College!

Bravo to 2018 Kristen Klimesh for her verbal commitment to play college softball at Georgetown College!

Congratulations to 2020 Allie Skaggs on your verbal commitment to play softball in college at the University of Arizona!

We are excited share that 2018 Pitcher Alivia Sinnott has verbally committed to continue her softball career in college at the University of South Florida!

Shelby Kelley named to the 2017 All-State Team - Honorable Mention

Catie Barber named to the 2017 All-State 2nd Team

Allie Skaggs was named to the MaxPreps 2017 Freshman All-American team

Congratulations to Junior, Skyelar Houston, on being selected to the 2016 All State Honorable Mention team for Class 3A.   Great job Skye!

Alivia Sinnott  is not only having success on the softball field but she also had a great year on the swim team!  Alivia was named 2016 Most Improved Swimmer, All State Academic First Team,  in Regions she placed 4th in the 200 Medley and 200 freestyle relay, 13th in 100 backstroke and 12th in 50 freestyle.  She also earned her varsity letter!  Congratulations Alivia!  Go Bruins! 

2016 University of Louisville Yarmuth Book Award

This award recognizes outstanding juniors across the state of Kentucky and Southern Indiana that show academic promise, intellectual curiosity and are civic minded.  The recipients must demonstrate a desire to learn through their various academic and extra-curricular activities while remaining in the top 20% of their class.

Left to Right: Sarah Brill, Madison Kearschner and Lex Hull

Congratulations to our 2015 Seniors on your awards!
Madison Kearschner - Valedictorian, AP Scholar with Distinction, U.S. Marine Corps Scholastic Excellence and Beta Club.

Allison Wiseman - Excellence in Communication
Lex Hull- U.S. Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete and Business.

It feels like a long time a coming for Ballard's Senior Catcher, Lex Hull, as she finally went on her "official" visit to Gamecock Country.  Lex went on her first unofficial visit her freshman year and gave her verbal commitment in the fall of her sophomore year.  Lex says she fell in love with the beautiful campus and wanted to be a part of building an up and coming SEC powerhouse program where she could make an immediate impact.  The Gamecocks have a new 8 million dollar softball stadium and this past year hosted the SEC tournament.  The 2015 class includes five recruits pictured below of which four are nationally ranked in the top 100 by Student Sports.   South Carolina earned its 17th bid in the NCAA Tournament this season and its second straight under fourth year head coach, Bev Smith. 

Congratulations to all the ladies above for being selected for the 28th District 2014 All Tournament team including three Ballard Lady Bruins - pitcher, Shelby Kelley and outfielders, Madison Kearschner and Jessica Adell.  The Lady Bruins defeated Christian Academy to be crowned District Champions!

CHICAGO (June 6, 2013) — In its 28th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Jessica Adell of Ballard High School as its 2012-13 Gatorade Kentucky Softball Player of the Year. Adell is the third Gatorade Kentucky Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from Ballard High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Adell as Kentucky’s best high school softball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year award announced in June, Adell joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Alicia Hollowell (2000-01, Fairfield HS, Calif.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.), Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.), Angela Tincher (2002-03, James River HS, Va.) and Kenzie Fowler (2006-07, Canyon del Oro HS, Ariz.).

The 5-foot-6 junior right-handed pitcher and outfielder batted .461 with six doubles, 32 runs scored and 33 steals this past season, leading the Bruins (29-11) to the 7th Region semifinals. In the circle, the 2012 First Team All-State selection posted a 20-9 record with a 1.10 ERA and 210 strikeouts in 197.2 innings pitched along with eight shutouts.

Adell has maintained a 3.09 GPA in the classroom. She has volunteered locally as part of a fundraising campaign to benefit cancer research and as a youth softball coach.

“Jessica Adell can do it all,” said Ricky Hoffman, head coach of Bullitt East High. “She’s the best outfielder in the state, she pitches even though that is not her best position, and she can hit. She is one of the hardest outs in the state.”

Adell has made a verbal commitment to play softball on an athletic scholarship at the University of Tennessee beginning in the fall of 2014.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Adell joins recent Gatorade Kentucky Softball Players of the Year Allison Foster (2011-12, Christian Academy of Louisville), Griffin Joiner (2010-11, Christian County High School), Emily Gaines (2009-10, South Laurel), Megan Taylor (2008-09, North Laurel), Kirsten Allen (2007-08 & 2006 – 07, Ryle) among the state’s list of former award winners.