Poland pitcher wins Gatorade Player of the Year award

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LISA-ANN ISHIHARA | THE VINDICATOR..Poland Erin Gabriel (22) against Ashtabula, Friday May 21, 2010

Earlier this spring, Poland High softball coach Reid Lamport told sophomore pitcher Erin Gabriel she was a finalist for the Gatorade Ohio Softball Player of the Year award.

“Coach told me about it, then I didn’t hear anything about it — until today.”

Gabriel got a text message from Lamport during school June 9 saying she had won the award. Later in the day, she was called to the school’s athletic office, where athletic director Brian Banfield officially gave her the news.

“It [winning] didn’t cross my mind,” said Gabriel. “I don’t really know much about it. I just knew that I was up for it, then found out I won it. I guess I have to send some stuff of me playing to them.”

Gabriel is the first Gatorade Ohio Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from Poland Seminary 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.

Erin has maintained a 4.0 GPA and is ranked first in her class. She has volunteered locally as a youth softball instructor and as part of multiple community service initiatives in association with her church youth group.

The sophomore right-handed pitcher led the Bulldogs (30-2) to the Div. II state final, posting a 21-1 record and a 0.24 ERA along with 318 strikeouts against just 18 walks in 142 innings.

At the plate, she owned a .562 batting average and a .753 slugging percentage along with three home runs and 28 RBI.

A 2010 USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team selection camp invitee, Erin had thrown four no-hitters in the state tournament, including a five inning perfect game against Ashtabula Edgewood when she fanned all 15 batters she had faced.

Despite all this success, the Bulldogs fell one run short in the Division II title game, falling 1-0 to Hebron Lakewood June 5.

“We’ve had a chance to step back and realize all we’ve accomplished this year,” said Gabriel.

“We just came up one run short. We can forget about everything we did this year because of one game. We broke a lot of records this year and Coach has already met with us talking about next season. We definitely are disappointed and want to make sure it doesn’t happen again next year.”