The Star’s All-Metro Kansas softball team: Olathe South’s Kala Holder is player of the year
Olathe South High School catcher Kala Holder has smacked more than a few doubles during her softball career. But the one she sent to right field in her team’s regional playoff game against Shawnee Mission South will be a sweeter memory for Holder, because it was the one that made her the school’s all-time hits leader.
Holder batted .554 this season, collected 42 RBI and six home runs, and she is The Star’s All-Metro Kansas softball player of the year.
“My teammates were all cheering for me, and it was just a really cool moment,” Holder said when she broke the record. “I was just thinking, ‘Wow, out of all the great softball players at South, it means the world to have the most hits out of anyone.’”
As a catcher, Holder was one of the go-to leaders for an Olathe South squad that won its second straight Kansas Class 6A state title this season. With a .598 on-base percentage, Holder was steady. But with 11 doubles, five triples and six home runs, she was also powerful.
And at her defensive position, Holder was just as reliable. She didn’t record an error all season. The four-year varsity catcher has been a steady presence for a program that made it to state semifinals three of Holder’s four seasons.
“Being a catcher on varsity my freshman year, I had to step up really quickly, and even more so this year,” Holder said. “I can see the entire field, so I have to be the one to direct people. I feel like the team relayed off that energy as long as I stayed positive.”
The team, which finished 23-3, used that energy to win its second straight state championship — a feat Holder says is even more special than that record-breaking hit to right field.
“It was the cherry on top to my high school years,” she said. “I was pretty proud of my stats. … But winning it with my best friends and proving people wrong who didn’t think we would win twice in a row was perfect. We made our mark.”
The Star’s All-Metro Kansas softball team
PITCHERS
Lexie Storrer, Olathe South, senior. The first-team All-Sunflower League pitcher struck out 116 on her way to a 13-1 record, a 1.38 ERA and a Kansas Class 6A state title with the Falcons. She also added a .472 average and 32 RBI at the plate.
Sarah Brown, Spring Hill, junior. Brown pitched 149.67 innings this season, notched a 0.89 ERA and struck out 185. She only allowed 19 earned runs all season, going 19-2, and led Spring Hill to a Kansas Class 4A Division I state title.
CATCHER
Kala Holder, Olathe South, senior. The all-time school leader in hits, Holder led the Falcons to a Kansas Class 6A championship with her .554 batting average, 11 doubles, five triples and six home runs. She batted in 42 runs and recorded no errors all season.
FIRST BASE
Alexis Hodapp, Olathe North, junior. Hodapp finished the season with a .559 batting average and 36 RBI. She also led the Sunflower League in home runs, with nine.
SECOND BASE
Lindsey Delana, Olathe South, senior. Delana started all 25 games for the Kansas Class 6A state champion Falcons and batted .311 with 25 RBI, seven doubles and two home runs. At second base, she also had 23 putouts and a .941 fielding percentage.
THIRD BASE
Mady Young, Olathe Northwest, junior. With 33 stolen bases (out of 33 attempts), Young set a school record. She batted .506 this season with six doubles, four triples, six home runs and 25 RBI.
SHORTSTOP
Kaylee Byers, Olathe East, senior. Byers hit a blistering .715 at the plate this season, leading the Sunflower League in hitting, doubles (20) and triples (seven). She added two homers and 18 RBI on her way to a powerful 1.160 slugging percentage.
OUTFIELDERS
Katherine Lane, St. Thomas Aquinas, junior. An all-state centerfielder, Lane was the Saints’ lead-off hitter and finished the season with a .500 batting average, 38 runs scored and 15 RBI. She also had 33 putouts on the defensive end.
Taryn Thomas, Blue Valley Northwest, senior. With a .698 average, Thomas broke the school record for batting average in a season, previously held by U.S. Olympic gold medalist Christie Ambrosi. Thomas added 13 RBI, five doubles and two triples.
Nasadiya Salazar, Piper, junior. For the Kansas Class 4A Division I runners-up, Salazar hit .441 with five doubles, a triple and three home runs. In right field, she didn’t commit an error all season.
UTILITY
Haidyn Bassett, Oskaloosa, senior. As a pitcher, Bassett went 13-1 with a 0.44 ERA and 149 strikeouts for Oskaloosa, the Kansas Class 3A state runner-up. She also split time at first base, and was a presence in the batter’s box, where she batted .613 with nine homers and 43 RBI.
This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 7:50 PM with the headline "The Star’s All-Metro Kansas softball team: Olathe South’s Kala Holder is player of the year."