2015 softball player of the year: Shelby Kennedy, Cienega. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Softball player of the year
Name: Shelby Kennedy
School: Cienega
Year in school: Senior
Sport: Softball
What she did: Kennedy was an error-free center fielder and the sparkplug for Cienega’s offense. The senior four-year starter and leadoff hitter batted .591 with a whopping 65 hits, including 12 doubles, three triples and one home run. The speedster held a .653 on-base percentage, scored 51 runs and had a knack for stolen bases, as she was successful on 35 of 37 attempts this spring, giving her the single-season program record.
Top performance: With Cienega facing Salpointe Catholic in the Division II state final this spring, Kennedy knew it was important to get her team off to a quick start. She did just that by leading off the bottom of the first with a walk, stealing second and third and then scoring the first run of the game on a botched attempt to throw her out. He scored the first of three runs that inning as the Bobcats went on to easily win 9-2, claiming their second state championship in program history.
What’s next: Kennedy is signed to play for Yale, where she plans on studying cognitive science or statistics.
Runner-up: Delfina Morales, Salpointe Catholic. She was the ace for a team that went 30-9 and reached its first state title game since 1999. Morales had a 2.35 ERA and struck out 162 batters in addition to batting .300 and driving in 28 runs.
