HILLSDALE COUNTY — In addition to The Hillsdale Daily News spring sports awards, conference honors are among the final accolades for athletes on the baseball and softball diamonds.
Two Hillsdale County standouts earned SCAA East captain/MVP honors after leading their teams to league titles in 2026 — Pittsford’s Laura LeMar in softball and North Adams-Jerome’s Desman Lawless in baseball.
LeMar was one of the top pitchers in the area, guiding Pittsford to a 9-1 SCAA East season, a league championship and a winning overall record.
The senior recorded four double-digit strikeout games and earned the win in nearly every Wildcats victory. She surpassed 125 strikeouts, threw two no-hitters and consistently controlled opposing lineups throughout the season.
At the plate and on the bases, LeMar was equally impactful. She finished with nearly 20 stolen bases, scored 30 runs, drove in at least 20 RBIs and hit three home runs. She also competed at the MHSAA Division 4 track and field state finals as part of Pittsford’s contingent after the softball team was unable to participate in the district tournament due to low numbers.
LeMar headlined a dominant all-league showing for Pittsford, which placed seven players on the 15-member first team for softball.
Sophomore Alexis Bryner finished third in all-league voting while emerging as one of the area’s most dangerous hitters. Bryner totaled eight home runs, 28 extra-base hits, 26 runs scored and 38 RBIs. She also earned at least one win in the circle.
Camden-Frontier also placed multiple athletes near the top of the voting. Paityn Vincent produced 25 hits, including six extra-base hits, while adding 16 RBIs, 20 runs and 22 stolen bases. Senior Regan Schaedler led the RedHawks in batting average and slugging percentage, finishing with 25 hits, eight extra-base hits, two home runs, 18 RBIs, 23 runs and 33 steals. Senior Sutton Cooney anchored the defense with a perfect fielding percentage across 70 chances, throwing out seven runners attempting to steal. Offensively, she totaled 29 hits, 31 steals and 19 runs scored. All were first-team all-league honorees.
Waldron’s Alyssa Hines was the Spartans’ lone first team honoree.
SCAA East Softball
First Team
Honorable Mention
Baseball
Lawless followed up a breakout freshman season with one of the most dominant pitching performances in the area, earning SCAA East captain honors while helping North Adams-Jerome claim a share of the league title and reach another district final.
The sophomore accounted for seven of the Rams’ 11 victories and led Hillsdale County with 103 strikeouts. He posted a 0.81 ERA, a 0.62 WHIP and limited opposing hitters to a .095 batting average. He recorded double-digit strikeouts in eight games, including 14 in the district final against Concord.
At the plate, Lawless led the team with a .659 batting average and a 1.068 slugging percentage. In 44 at-bats, he totaled 29 hits, 12 extra-base hits, two home runs and 24 runs.
Camden-Frontier junior Jayden Martinez was the RedHawks’ top first-team selection after helping secure a share of the SCAA East title. Martinez led the team in batting average (.537), slugging percentage (.633), hits (29) and RBIs (18), while also contributing three pitching wins and 57 strikeouts.
Pittsford senior Jacob Drawe was the Wildcats top all-leaguer. Drawe earned five victories with 73 strikeouts and helping the team claim a share of the conference title. He also led the team with 14 stolen bases. He was a dual-sport athlete, qualifying multiple times for the MHSAA D4 track state finals.
Teammate Ethan Pickford ranked among the league’s top five players in voting. In addition to earning all-state honors in trap shooting, Pickford led Pittsford in batting average (.532), slugging percentage (.745), hits (25), extra-base hits (10), RBIs (15), putouts (156), fielding percentage (.981) and runners caught stealing (seven).
North Adams-Jerome senior Conner Arsenault earned first-team honors after finishing second on the team with 21 hits while leading in slugging percentage (.762), RBIs (25), steals (19), putouts (172) and fielding percentage (.994).
Camden-Frontier senior Luis Thilo was top all-leaguer, posting a 3-1 record with a team-best 2.538 ERA, a 1.451 WHIP and a .175 opponent batting average. He struck out 56 batters while adding 22 runs and 24 stolen bases.
In total, 10 of the 15 first-team selections came from North Adams-Jerome, Camden-Frontier and Pittsford.
Litchfield also produced several all-league performers. Ayden Gutting earned first-team honors as both a reliable fielder and bullpen arm, finishing with 16 hits and 18 runs. His brother, Gavin Gutting, led the Terriers’ pitching staff with 12 starts, 85 strikeouts, a 2.03 WHIP and a .199 opponent batting average. Brady Kerr joined them on the first team after recording 18 hits, 14 RBIs and contributing two pitching wins with 27 strikeouts.
Waldron’s Seth Williams and Troy Shamplo were also first-team selections. Williams led the Spartans with 18 hits and nine extra-base hits while posting a .652 slugging percentage, 17 RBIs and 11 runs. He added one pitching victory and 39 strikeouts.
Shamplo earned three wins on the mound with 33 strikeouts while leading the team with 21 hits. He also scored 27 runs and went a perfect 27-for-27 in stolen base attempts. He was a dual-sport athlete this spring with all-state honors in trap shooting.
SCAA East Baseball
First Team
Second Team
Honorable Mention
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: SCAA East baseball, softball awards led by Hillsdale County players
Reporting by Joseph Flaherty, Hillsdale Daily News / Hillsdale Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Joseph Flaherty, Hillsdale Daily News | USA TODAY Network
