Alaina Nunez and Maddie Murphy helped lead their teams to spots in sectional championships. Jalissa Crittenden and Ava Senka led their programs to undefeated regular seasons. Leah Sperry helped Our Lady of Mercy earn the Class A sectional title while Jessie Crye and Avon won the Class B2 championship. Lola Rivera and Kylee Whiting helped their squads notch the best record in their respective classes. Addy McDonald broke the program record for strikeouts as a sophomore while Olivia Waters led her squad on both sides of the field. The 10 student-athletes were honored with the prestigious Softball Player of the Year awards in Section V.
Nunez earned Class AAA Player of the Year for Fairport as the Red Raiders reached the sectional championship for the third time in the last five seasons. During the season, Nunez hit .516 with an on-base percentage of .569, slugging percentage of .828 and an OPS of 1.398. She reached base in all 19 games played. Of her 33 hits, nine were doubles, four were triples and she one home run. She struck out six times in 72 plate appearances. Nunez drove in 15 runs and scored 29. She stole seven bases and had a fielding percentage of .905 (74 chances).
Murphy was honored out of Hilton with Class AA1 Player of the Year. The junior helped lead Hilton to the Class AA1 sectional championship and its first finals appearance since 1993. On the season, Murphy posted a .605 AVG with 52 hits including 14 doubles, four triples and one home run for 28 RBI and 41 runs. During a trip to Florida, the junior strung together a streak of 14 consecutive hits and had at least one hit in every game played this season totaling 52 hits, setting a program record. Murphy also stole a team-high 22 bases and defensively she notched a .985 fielding percentage with 127 defensive chances.
Crittenden got the nod for Class AA2 Player of the Year after leading Eastridge to an undefeated (20-0) regular season and reaching the sectional final in back-to-back years. The senior right-hander pitched 119 innings and posted a 20-1 record in the circle for the Lancers, striking out 143 batters including her 400th career strikeout with a 0.82 ERA. The senior also batted .483 across the season, adding 14 doubles and 24 RBI.
The Elmira College commit’s best pitching appearance came on April 8 against Canandaigua as the senior right-hander along with teammate Harper Kuehne combined for a perfect game in an 11-0 victory. Crittenden tossed 10 strikeouts across five shutout innings to earn the win in the circle.
Sperry was recognized as the Class A Player of the Year from Our Lady of Mercy after Monarchs earned their first sectional championship since 2018. On the mound, the junior hurled 110 innings, striking out 118 batters while garnering a 3.56 ERA, a 1.445 WHIP and a .277 BAA. Sperry went 12-5 on the season and capped off the year reaching the career milestone of 400 strikeouts. At the plate, Sperry posted a .550 AVG, .600 OBP, a 1.333 OPS and a .733 SLG. The junior collected 33 hits (26 singles, five doubles, two homers), 20 RBI and six runs while striking out twice all season.
Senka earned Class B1 Player of the Year after leading Wayland-Cohocton to an undefeated regular season. Senka did on both sides of the field, posting a .607 AVG, .626 OBP and a .964 SLG with 51 hits (31 singles, 12 doubles, six triples) for 32 RBI and 24 runs. The sophomore walked five times and stole eight bases while only striking out twice on the year. On the mound, Senka pitched 68.2 innings, notching a 10-1 record and one save. The sophomore posted a .917 ERA, a .947 WHIP and a .178 BAA with 111 strikeouts while allowing just 46 hits and 26 runs all season.
Crye was honored from Avon after leading the Eagles to its first sectional title after going back-to-back in 2021 and 2022 where older sister Joleigh Crye was the ace for those squads. The senior tossed 136.1 innings and struck out 283 batters while allowing 51 hits and 11 earned runs this year. Crye’s best game of the season came against Dansville where the senior tossed a perfect game. With the year, Crye surpassed 1,000 career strikeouts and finished with 1,206, a program record. At the plate, Crye notched a .525 AVG with 32 hits (22 singles, six doubles, three triples, one homerun) for 15 RBI. The senior only struck out once all year while walking 17 times and stole four bases.
McDonald posted a great year for Geneseo to get the nod of Class C1 Player of the Year. The sophomore fanned 194 batters over 102 innings and held opponents to a .150 BAA to become Geneseo’s all-time strikeout leader with 610 and counting. As the leadoff player at the plate, McDonald garnered a .340 AVG and also had zero errors in the field.
Whiting helped Bolivar-Richburg earn the best record in Class C2 (17-2) to earn Player of the Year honors. The sophomore finished with a 11-3 record on the mound including three no-hitters. Whiting tossed 94.1 innings with 180 strikeouts for an ERA of .594. On the offensive side, the sophomore posted a .612 AVG and collected 12 doubles, four triples and one homerun for a team-high 35 RBI. With the season to go along with POTY, Whiting also earned Allegany County League MVP.
Rivera led Northstar Christian Academy to the top-seed in Class D1 with a 14-1 to notch the Player of the Year award. The junior hurled 94.2 innings and posted a 1.04 ERA, a .80 WHIP and a .127 BAA. Rivera fanned 205 batters over 16 games while allowing just 36 hits, averaging 15 strikeouts per game and two strikeouts per inning. Some of the junior’s best games this season include no-hitters against Charles G. Finney and EMHCS, one-hitters over Aquinas and Wheatland-Chili, a 20-strikeout game against Wheatland-Chili, an 18-strikeout game in the playoffs against Alfred Almond and two 16-strikeout games over Bishop Kearney and Fillmore. With the season, Rivera broke the school record for strikeouts and currently has 761. At the plate, the junior notched a .500 AVG and a .672 OBP. Rivera collected 22 hits including three doubles, a triple and a homer for 30 RBI and 28 runs while walking 22 times. Rivera led NCA in AVG, OBP, hits and RBI while posting a 17-game base streak. To go along with POTY, the junior also earned 2026 Private Parochial League D2 Player of the Year and First Team.
Waters had a stellar season on both sides for Andover-Whitesville to garner Class D2 Player of the Year. The senior garnered eight wins on the mound while posting a .400 AVG with 14 extra base hits and 22 RBI.
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