Rosepine, La. —
Intimidating. Dominating.
Those are just a couple of words describing Rosepine junior Christina Hamilton when she steps into the pitching circle during any Lady Eagle softball contest.
When she gets a chance to bat, she is also an intimidating and dominating force, so much so that of the 19 times she walked during the 2009 season, 12 of them were intentional.
But now you can forget the words intimidating and dominating for the time being.
Hamilton can best be described by three letters — MVP.
The LSU commit has been chosen by the sports department of the Leesville Daily Leader as the Player of the Year on the all-Vernon Parish softball team.
"Christina is a wonderful young lady who has really matured over the years I've had her on the team at Rosepine," Lady Eagle head coach Mark Brown said. "She has a great work ethic and doesn't lack in confidence. She is a leader by example."
Simply put, the numbers Hamilton registered this year were simply grand.
In the circle, Hamilton was simply unstoppable.
She surrendered only 11 earned runs en route to a 0.33 ERA and 20 shutouts on the season, three of which came in the playoffs. In 232 innings of work, Hamilton faced a total of 880 batters, striking out 452 of them and walking only 39.
In all, Hamilton fired 15 two-hitters, five one-hitters, three no-hitters and one perfect game. She also had a fielding percentage of .992.
On the offensive side of things, Hamilton was just as dominant.
In 102 official at-bats, she collected 52 hits, for a batting average of .510. Of those 52 hits, 12 were doubles and 12 more were home runs. She also had 42 RBIs, 44 runs scored, a .672 on-base percentage and a .980 slugging percentage.
Hamilton, who had a pitching record of 33-3 on the season, guided the Lady Eagles to a perfect 10-0 record in District 4-2A play, being named the league's Most Valuable Player.
It was during the annual all-district meeting that Brown heard several of the league's coaches talk about Hamilton's growth as a player and a person.
"When other coaches notice how much Christina has matured on the field, it can't help but make you feel proud," Brown said. "She means a lot to this team and was just a joy to coach this year. She is a superb young lady."
In addition, Hamilton was a guiding force in the playoffs for the Lady Eagles, leading Rosepine to the Class 2A state finals for the first time in school history. Rosepine dropped a 3-1 decision in 14 innings to Evangel.
