Stanley, Lovelace share All Area honors
By
All season long, Rockmart softball was an all-around juggernaut.
The Lady Jackets scored more than 10 runs in 19 games this season and lost only twice in the regular season on the way to a Region 7-AA title and a Final Four appearance.
A team that special took far more than one player to put up impressive numbers. But it was Rockmart’s leadoff hitter and its leader on the mound who were the most reliable constants, and the ones who broke records left and right.
For those reasons, Rockmart’s Cambree Stanley and Emily Loveless are the 2016 Rome-News Tribune Co-Players of the Year.
“Cambree and Emily are two players that play yearround, they play with travel teams and they’re already being heavily recruited,” Rockmart coach Steve Luke said. “And the transition we have seen into their sophomore years has just been incredible.”
Stanley got on base at astronomical rates, and Loveless served as both an ace pitcher and the team’s power hitter.
The offense almost always began with Stanley, a do-itall leadoff hitter who could burn teams in many ways. She batted .630 while setting school records in stolen bases (65), triples (12), hits (75), runs scored (70) and batting average.
Stanley, like so many other Rockmart players, made massive improvements through the offseason.
Luke said the sophomore spent most of her freshmen season as merely a bunting hitter, but she grew into a full swing that produced 22 extrabase hits.
The ability to bunt, slap and swing through made Stanley into a complete player, and someone who always caused havoc at the plate.
“It gives you a lot of options, and you don’t have to rely on small ball to win games,” Luke said. “I mean, we ran all year long, that’s just our style.