The Lady Lancers hosted their annual awards banquet inside the school cafeteria on May 22. Photo by James Darnell

 

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - The Cordova Lady Lancers varsity softball program hosted their annual post-season awards banquet on May 22 inside the cafeteria at Cordova High School. 

The event was well-received, with players, coaches, friends and family all in attendance as players were honored for their commitment to the game this spring. Food and beverages were provided and players were given award certificates in recognition of their hard work.

For head coach Kim Little, it was an opportunity to show appreciation for her young team. 

“I enjoy doing these,” Little said when asked about what it means to her as a coach to hold the post-season awards banquets. “This year, we did something different and had the girls present each other. You always see the coaches’ praising players. This year, I wanted the team to praise one another.”

Instead of Little presenting awards to her players, she instead elected to have each athlete select a teammate to speak about. As the team stood in front of the audience, each player spoke kind words about one another. There were some laughs as well and it was overall a lighthearted exercise by Little to bring her team even closer together.

Little also decided not to hand out individual awards this year, opting for the team-first approach by promoting the group as a whole. 

“Ultimately, it is a team sport,” Little said. “We were so young this year and I don’t think there’s one individual who deserves one highlight. I think at different points of the season, they were all MVPs (Most Valuable Players).”

It was also revealed that sophomore standout Becca Lee received All-Metro League honors for the season she put together this spring. Lee ranked atop the Metro League this season in home runs (4), slugging percentage (1.060) and on base percentage (.617).

Additionally, Lee ranked second in batting average (.540) and third in runs scored (23). 

Despite the team not making the playoffs after a fifth-place finish in league competition, there is plenty of optimism surrounding the program moving forward next spring.