While Nansemond River High School’s softball team did not win the Region 4A South championship like it did last year, the 19-3 Lady Warriors still had a sizable group of players deserving regional recognition.

Nansemond River junior second baseman Jaclyn Mounie and senior outfielder Morgan Lowers were named to the all-region first team, four Lady Warriors and one King’s Fork High School player made the second team and one Lady Bulldog received honorable mention.

“Obviously, any time your kids are recognized, you’re pretty happy with that recognition,” NR coach Gabe Rogers said. While earning individual honors is not the focus, “we just understand that if we do what we’re supposed to do, then those accolades will come.”

Mounie has now made it two years in a row as a first team all-region infielder.

“I felt that Jac was very deserving of first team,” Rogers said.

As for why coaches in the region selected her for this honor, “I think a lot of it has to do with name recognition,” Rogers said. “I think she’s a very established player in the softball community. The fact that she’s already committed to Towson (University), which is a Division I school, I think some of that played a part in it.”

Her play this season helped to reinforce positive impressions coaches had of her as she finished the year with a .346 batting average, .538 on-base percentage, .460 slugging percentage and a .992 fielding percentage.

She led the Lady Warriors with 18 runs and 17 runs batted in, she had multiple avenues to getting on base, leading the team in walks and hits by pitches, and she did whatever was necessary to help her team, including leading it in sacrifices.

In Nansemond River’s three postseason games, she went 4-for-6, plus a couple of sacrifices.

“She’s a tremendous player, and I think a lot of people recognized that,” Rogers said.

Morgan Lowers was surprised she made the all-region first team, her coach said, but he added that he was not.

Lowers missed six games during the regular season and all three postseason games, and most of those absences were due to illness. But before being sidelined, she was having an impressive senior season.

“She was first team all-region last year, first team all-state, and her numbers were actually better this year,” Rogers said.

Through 13 games, she had a .462 batting average, .512 on-base percentage and a .769 slugging percentage, with three doubles, three triples and one home run. She had 11 runs scored with seven RBIs from the No. 2 spot in the lineup.

Rogers said that while she was out, she was greatly missed both at the plate and in the outfield, where she exhibits tremendous range and a cannon for an arm.

He also noted that factors helping coaches select her to the first team included her being a senior and a well-known name in softball that is going to an NCAA Division I school, Winthrop University, on scholarship.

“She had tremendous numbers for the amount of games that she played, and I think, again, just like Jac, I think her play warranted her being honored with the first team recognition,” Rogers said.

Making the all-region second team for the Lady Warriors was junior pitcher Lauren Maddrey, junior shortstop KateLynn Hodgkiss, sophomore outfielder Kelly Lafferty and freshman utility player Ashlyn Rogers.

Making the second team for the Lady Bulldogs was senior pitcher Sydney Wash.

King’s Fork junior third baseman Kay’Lee Justice received honorable mention.