Menu
Brooke Boetjer named Player of the Year
The year 2012 saw a lot of firsts for Putnam County softball. South Putnam became the first Class 2A team to win back-to-back state titles and the first to record a perfect season. In all IHSAA classes, South Putnam became the first team to post a perfect record in its second year of claiming consecutive state titles. Also, South Putnam pitcher Brooke Boetjer became the county's first Miss Softball winner.
Keeping with the theme, Boetjer becomes the first player to win the Banner Graphic Putnam County Player of the Year four straight years and the Eagles are the first nine-member starting team to be named to the All-County squad in its entirety.
Members of the 2012 All-County team including South Putnam's Boetjer, Emily Dabkowski, Jenny Thompson, Jenna Jones, Brooke Cundiff, Kelsey Whitaker, Janet Crafton, MaKenzie Trisler and Mattie Varvel; Cloverdale's Paige Gutierrez and Kara Knapp, North Putnam's Sabrina Surber and Greencastle's Taylor Pruitt.
South Putnam
Brooke Boetjer (Senior)
Boetjer put together an impressive senior season to help her South Putnam Eagles team to a perfect 31-0 record and its second state title in as many years.
In her senior campaign, Boetjed was second on the team in batting average with a .547 average and led the team with 41 RBI and tied for the lead with five home runs. She was third on the team in hits with 47, added eight doubles and 26 runs scored.
On the mound, Boetjer put up some mind-boggling numbers. The senior was 22-0 with 168 strikeouts and an ERA of .15. In her four-year career, Boetjer had a record of 72 wins, four losses, two saves and an ERA of .39. Boetjer was also first team All-State.
Emily Dabkowski (Senior)
Dabkowski proved to be a leader off and on the field for the Eagles in 2012. The senior led the team with a batting average of .560, in hits with 51, in doubles with 15 and in triples with six. She also had 15 stolen bases and 42 runs scored to lead the team.
Dabkowski displayed some power as well as she chipped in three home runs in 2012. She was a second team All-State selection.
Jenny Thompson (Senior)
Thompson was the third member of South Putnam to post a batting average over .500, finishing the season at .522. She was second on the team with 13 doubles, but set a new mark for the Class 2A Championship game by smacking two in the Eagles' 3-1 win over Adams Central.
The senior had two home runs, three triples, had 32 runs scored and collected 29 RBI for South Putnam.
Jenna Jones (Junior)
Jones tied for the team-lead on South Putnam with five home runs, while batting .395. She also had 30 hits, with 10 doubles, 19 RBI and 26 runs scored. Of the team's starters, Jones recorded the lowest amount of strikeouts for the Eagles' with six.
MaKenzie Trisler (Sophomore)
Trisler batted .316 for South Putnam with 23 runs scored and 17 RBI. She contributed two doubles, three triples and four stolen bases. Trisler produced an amazing diving catch in the state championship game to save runs from scoring.
Mattie Varvel (Junior)
Junior Varvel batting a solid .411, collecting two home runs, three triples and two doubles along the way. She had 30 hits, with 20 runs scored and 21 RBI. She contributed one stolen base on the season.
Janet Crafton (Junior)
Crafton served as the Eagles' centerfielder and offered up some good numbers in 2012. The junior batted .390 with 30 hits and 28 runs scored. She had two home runs, seven doubles and 17 RBI. She stole two bases in 2012.
Brooke Cundiff (Sophomore)
Cundiff recorded 15 RBI on 22 hits and had 25 runs scored. She batted .344, while collecting two doubles and one triple Cundiff came up big in the sectional championship at her second base position, recording multiple tough outs during the contest.
Kelsey Whitaker (Junior)
Left fielder Whitaker batted .304 for the Eagles' and posted 11 RBI in the process. She had three doubles on 21 hits and had 24 runs scored. She also recorded two stolen bases. It was Whitaker who drove in Thompson in the state title game to provide what would turn out to be the winning run.
Cloverdale
Paige Gutierrez (Senior)
Gutierrez was a double threat for Cloverdale this season. The senior batted .386 with tied for the team-lead with 24 RBI. She led the team with four home runs and had one triple and seven doubles.
On the mound, Gutierrez recorded 211 strikeouts, while giving up 44 walks. She gave up 31 earned runs for a paltry 1.51 ERA.
Kara Knapp (Senior)
Knapp was another big bat for Cloverdale in 2012, with a batting average of .422. She also led the team with 16 doubles and tied for the team-lead with Gutierrez with 14 RBI. She collected three triples and three home runs.
Greencastle
Taylor Pruitt (Senior)
Pruitt batted .328 while knocking eight RBI in during the 2012 season. She had 22 hits, with five doubles and two triples. She also had 17 runs scored and stole 10 bases for GHS. Of three GHS batted who posted an average of .300 or better, Pruitt posted the fewest strikeouts with eight.
North Putnam
Sabrina Surber
(Freshman)
Surber has the distinction of being the only freshman to make the 2012 All-County team. Surber was second on the team in batting average with .328, while collecting 19 hits. She tied for the team-lead with 11 RBI and had two home runs, two doubles and two runs scored. In 58 batting attempts, she posted a team-low in strikeouts with five. She also led the team in OBP, SLG and OPS percentages.
Surber was the Cougars' top pitcher, but no stats were available at press time.
The 2012 All-County team class breakdown is six seniors, four juniors, two sophomores and one freshman. The Banner Graphic would like to congratulate all members of the 2012 All-County team and the Banner Graphic Player of the Year Brooke Boetjer of South Putnam.
2012 All-County Team
Player of the Year: Brooke Boetjer (SP)
Cloverdale: Kara Knapp, Paige Gutierrez
Greencastle: Taylor Pruitt
North Putnam: Sabrina Surber
South Putnam: Brooke Boetjer, Emily Dabkowski, Jenny Thompson, Jenna Jones, MaKenzie Trisler, Mattie Varvel, Janet Crafton, Brooke Cundiff, Kelsey Whitaker