Nine Lancaster-Lebanon League athletes were recently recognized as members of the Pennsylvania Softball Coaches Association All-State team.

The team was selected by members of the PSBCA with input from a statewide group of sportswriters.

Hempfield's Brittany Hammer and Elizabethtown's Becca Bigler were named to the Class AAAA Second Team infield while Donegal's Morgan Kibler was named to the Second Team infield in Class AAA.

Additionally, six players were named Honorable Mention: pitchers Megan Blank (Conestoga Valley) and Caitlin Paine (Lebanon), catcher Anna Libby (E-town) and infielder Christina Lausch (Hempfield) in Class AAAA, and catcher Katie Lynch (Lampeter-Strasburg) and Manheim Central's Kayla Cook in Class AAA.

Hammer will continue her career at Seton Hall, playing shortstop on a full scholarship. She is a career .400 hitter but dropped off to .300 this year, pressed to carry the pitching duties for the Black Knights. As a pitcher, she was 8-4 with a 1.70 ERA.

Bigler, an All-League shortstop headed to Hofstra on a full ride, hit .452 with 29 runs scored and 21 RBIs and made every play in the field as the Bears advanced to the District Three AAAA semifinals.

Kibler, who has accepted a full scholarship to play at Jacksonville University, hit .415 with 25 runs scored and anchored the defense for the league champion Indians at shortstop.

Blank, an All-League outfield selection headed to George Mason, won three games for the Buckskins, but her major impact came at the plate, hitting .435 with 15 home runs and 20 RBIs.

Paine went 12-7 for the Cedars, throwing three no-hitters and three one-hitters. The Bloomsburg-bound lefthander walked just five while striking out an incredible 220 batters.

Moving from third in the batting order, where she hit .444 with eight home runs in 2008, to leadoff this year, Libby continued to spark the Bears, hitting .390 and scoring over 20 runs. Of equal if not greater value was her in-game management behind the plate, a strength much appreciated by her soon-to-be college coach, Millersville's Kathy Cummings.

Lausch, who will continue her career on scholarship at Marist University, hit .441 with 18 RBIs and 17 runs scored hitting third for the Knights.

Lynch, the L-L's All-League catcher, hit .522 with 22 runs scored and 19 RBIs. She will play at Kutztown next season on a partial scholarship.

Curiously, Cook, who caught the entire season for the Barons, was named as an outfielder. Set to play on scholarship at Temple next year, Cook hit over .400 with 22 RBIs and 5 home runs for the Section Three co-champion Barons.

E-mail: dbyrne@lnpnews.com