By BRD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com
STEPHENVILLE (July 10, 2017) — Already perhaps the most decorated pitcher in the history of Stephenville High School softball, Julia Flores has put another feather in her cap as on of 28 all-stars in conferences 1A-4A.
The Texas Girls Coaches Association All-Star Game begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Austin. The game will be live streamed online at KMACsports.com/5587.
Flores, the 8-4A district pitcher of the year and a “Starter” on the All-Big Country Team compiled by sports writers at the Abilene Reporter-News, is on Team Blue, which opposes Team Red.
The versatile pitcher who could help any high school team from a number of positions has been a stalwart in the circle the past three seasons for head coach Rus Mayes’ Honeybees, going 55-29 while amassing 591 strikeouts in 495.1 innings.
As a junior this past spring, Flores pitched 148.2 innings despite missing the bi-district round of the Region I-4A playoffs, going 23-6 as Stephenville (26-6) exceeded its single-season wins records set the previous season. She recorded 201 strikeouts with only 18 walks, posting a 1.80 earned run average while limiting opponents to a .197 batting average and just 0.895 walks plus hits per inning pitched.
If all Flores did was silence opposing bats in that fashion, she would remain one of the most fearsome players in Conference 4A. But more than just a pitcher, Flores is an all-around player who may also have been tabbed an all-star with her bat alone.
She hit .483 as a junior with 46 RBI, second on the team behind the school-record 55 driven in by Nadine Arredondo, a National Fast Pitch News All-American, TGCA All-State selection and Big Country Offensive Player of the Year. Flores led the Honeybees with 13 doubles and matched Tarleton State signee Sami Shaffer for second on the squad with six home runs. Two triples gave Flores a total of 21 extra base hits, and she was 10-for-10 stealing bases.
“When they narrow it down to 28 players from 1A through 4A and you make that list, that’s pretty special,” said Stephenville head coach Rus Mayes. “It’s exciting for Julia, and it’s another step forward for our program to be represented in a big event.”
Each of the 14-player rosters are comprised of standouts currently between their junior and senior seasons. The event used to feature only recently graduated seniors by rule, but that was changed because so many places signed with colleges were turning down invitations to compete as all-stars.
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