Mohawk’s Sheets, Riverdale’s Farmer, Donaugh All-Ohioans

By LONNIE McMILLAN

Sports editor

Riverdale’s Brenna Farmer and Alison Donaugh, and Mohawk’s Bailey Sheets were selected as softball All-Ohioans as released by the Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association on Monday night.

Farmer was named a first-team infielder in Division III, while teammate Alison Donaugh was a second-team pick as a pitcher. In Division IV, Sheets was picked to the first team as a pitcher.

A shortstop for the Falcons, Farmer put up massive numbers at the plate, most impressively scoring 68 runs. She hit with a combination of average and power, batting .692 with 29 extra-base hits (11 doubles, nine triples and nine home runs).

“She was just a catalyst for us,” Riverdale coach Craig Taylor said. “She worked hard, and she continues to work hard. She never takes a day off. She’s always in the cage or doing something to get better. She’s just an overall leader for us. She shows the others how it’s supposed to be done, and they follow along.”

Farmer, committed to play in college at Ohio University, also walked 19 times to finish with a .760 on-base percentage and drove in 41 runs, a huge number considering she was at the top of the order most of the year.

But before she leaves for Athens, she has one more year in Mount Blanchard.

“It’s hard to believe she’s a junior, and she’s going to continue to work hard and get better,” Taylor said. “If she can improve upon the number she set this year, she’ll have an amazing senior year.”

A senior, Donaugh was literally unhittable when she was at her best. She threw back-to-back perfect games near the end of the season as part of three no-hitters she threw this season.

On the year, Donaugh finished 17-2 with one save, a 1.07 ERA and 191 strikeouts in 118 1/3 innings.

“Anytime you can give the ball to Alison, and she goes out on the mound, we knew we had a chance to win, and we knew she had a chance to do something special,” Taylor said.

Although she was selected as a pitcher, her offensive numbers were among the best in the state as well. Signed to play next year at the University of Detroit Mercy, she batted .598 with 12 doubles, seven triples, three home runs and 51 RBIs. Despite missing one season because of COVID-19, Donaugh’s career numbers are “staggering,” Taylor said.

“At the bat, again, a combination of average and power,” he said. “She didn’t hit as many home runs this year, but she did hit gaps. She’s another one that works extremely hard and plays all the time. Between her and Brenna, the younger ones had good ones to look up to.”

Addy Farmer, a freshman this past season, likely will have the challenging task of stepping into Donaugh’s role as the team’s top pitcher, and it will be extremely difficult to replace her offensive production as well.

Riverdale went 22-3 this spring, finishing as runner-up in the Blanchard Valley Conference after sharing the league title a year ago. That came only a few years after from a winless season.

“Individual awards come from team success,” Taylor said. “Those two have been our leaders for the last two years Brenna has one more year, but Alison had a great career, and we turned the program around. … They would tell you most definitely they care winning more than anything else. It’s great to have young ladies like that in the program.”

Mohawk coach Mindy Walton shared exactly the same sentiment about Sheets, a junior pitcher who also was one of the area’s top hitters.

“She’s just a huge asset in our lineup and on the field,” Walton said. “She batted over .500 all season long. That alone is a big accomplishment, and she’s worked really, really hard to get where she is. She’s played travel balls for years. Very deserving.”

The Northern 10 Athletic Conference’s player of the year, Sheets led the league with a .512 average. She did it with power, too, hitting nine doubles, three triples and a home run while driving in 25 runs. She stole 14 bases and scored 33 runs.

“She was kind of a driving force in our lineup,” Walton said. “When she got on base, she rallied the troops and got everyone going too. When Bailey got on base, people were going to follow that.”

Mohawk typically did not need to score a lot of runs to win games because of Sheets’ pitching. She threw 160 innings — all but four on the season — and went 21-5 with a 2.23 ERA and 176 strikeouts.

“She was one of those girls who would start off a game a little shaky, maybe not making her spots, but as the game went on, she got stronger,” Walton said. “… That just says a lot about her. Not a lot of things rattle her. Her mindset is pretty solid.”

Sheets is staying busy getting better at all of her crafts, Walton said. He is involved a softball weightlifting program while also working out for volleyball and basketball, giving the rest of the Warriors a great example.

Although the Warriors did graduate some important seniors, having Sheets back means they will be contenders again next year.

“She definitely set up goals and met the goals she set out to do this year with All-Ohio and (N10) player of the year,” Walton said. “Somebody like that coming back is definitely going to help us. We have some big shoes to fill, but at least we have her coming back.”