Softball All-Stars 2014: Walsh Jesuit's Lilli Piper is top player, plus see honorable mentions (poll)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If softball isn't Walsh Jesuit junior shortstop Lilli Piper's best sport, then you could have fooled a lot of people. The Butler basketball commit held a .615 batting average and 13 home runs this past season.

Despite not having the same off-season training as other top softball players, Piper was one of the toughest outs in Northeast Ohio. She has been named the cleveland.com Softball Player of the Year.

Piper and teammates Taylor Rahach and Taylor Stimson nearly dethroned North Canton Hoover as the top Division I team in Ohio. The Warriors played North Canton Hoover three times, including once in the postseason, and lost by one run each time.

Here, Piper discussed her season, being a dual-sport athlete and what lies ahead for Walsh Jesuit:

I had no idea that this was coming at all because during the winter instead of hitting, I focused on basketball. I really didn't pick up anything until a couple of weeks before the season. I was very comfortable, though. I wasn't worried or stressed out about it.

I was very surprised with the team success. We struggled a little bit getting the freshmen ready to play. We never played to our full potential, but as the season went on and the tournament came around, we really shined. I was very proud of the young girls for stepping up.

Taylor Stimson, Taylor Rahach and I were the captains. We did as much as we possibly could to show the freshmen what we do and how we have success. We tried to pass it down to them so they knew we are good and we can do this.

I hear people saying I should play softball now that I've had a season like this. It doesn't change my mind, though. I still have a passion for basketball, and there is no way that I'm going to give that up.

I've played both those sports my whole life and time management has been huge. Countless amount of weekends during the summer I've gone from basketball games to softball games. It's all about balancing and making as much as you possibly can.

It helps that I play more than one sport. Playing a different sport helps work on things that you might not work on if you played just one sport.

My last softball game is a long ways away, and I don't like to think about it. I'm kind of worried when that last game hits because I've played both sports my entire life.

We couldn't get any closer to state champion North Canton Hoover. We played them three times and lost by one run every single time. It was just the very little things that could have changed it either way. Next year we expect nothing less than a state championship.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Carly Bachna, Elyria; Zoe Beetler, Amherst; Nicole Best, Brecksville-Broadview Heights; Amanda Beursken, Midview; Meridith Chopka, Cuyahoga Heights; Kristen Confroy, Solon; Summer Constable, Keystone; Dayna Denner, Cuyahoga Heights; Elizabeth Ellis, Elyria; Lexie Handley, St. Vincent-St. Mary; Sarah Kaya, Clearview; Brittany Knight, Windham; Katie Lew, Westlake; Kirsten Lightel, Tallmadge; Alexis Mack, Brecksville-Broadview Heights; Megan Paradise, Medina; Kourtney Paul, Twinsburg; Logan Paul, Hathaway Brown; Taylor Rahach, Walsh Jesuit; Kaylyn Roose, Revere; Lauren Shaw, Keystone; Sammie Stefan, Keystone; Perris Stevens, Brecksville-Broadview Heights; Taylor Stimson, Walsh Jesuit; Hannah Stroe, Nordonia; Jenna Williams, Manchester.

Contact high school sports reporter David Cassilo by email (dcassilo@cleveland.com) or Twitter (@dcassilo). Or log in and leave a message in the comments section below.

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