It was another stellar softball campaign for Orange County softball in 2018.

Both the Bridge City Lady Cardinals and Little Cypress-Mauriceville Lady Bears advanced to the Area Round of the postseason while the Orangefield Lady Bobcats made it to the bidistrict round.

The Lady Cardinals (27-9-1) claimed yet another District 22-4A crown for head coach Kayla Gallardo, this time winning all 10 games against stout district competition.

The Lady Bears (25-5) finished a solid second in 22-4A play behind long-time head coach Dena Adkins as they went 8-2 in 22-4A play.

Both the Lady Cardinals and Lady Bears were ranked a lot during this season in the Texas High School Girls Coaches Association poll with the Lady Bears climbing as high as No. 1 in Class 4A.

The Lady Cardinals took care of Jasper in the bidistrict round of the playoffs before falling to Liberty while the Lady Bears swept Huntington in bidistrict before bowing out to Huffman.

The Lady Bobcats (21-12-1) had a nice run as well for second-year coach Rebekah Ragsdale as they finished tied for the third-place spot and fell to Lufkin Hudson in the bidistrict round.

So now that the campaign has drawn to a close, it’s time to pick the 2018 All-Orange Leader Softball Team.

It’s always extremely hard to pick superlatives for the squad because so many are deserving,

However, without a doubt, for the fourth straight year we know who our Most Valuable Player is.

That player, of course, is Bridge City ace Kassidy Wilbur.

Wilbur claimed a 22-4 record on the mound with a earned run average of 0.89. She struck out 276 batters and only walked 27 in 165 innings of work.

Despite not being pitched to, due to opponents’ fears at the plate, Wilbur had a superb year with her bat again as she notched a .430 average with 11 home runs, nine doubles and 34 runs batted in.

So, a final Congrats to all who made the elite unit as next year looks like another banner season is looming.

Here is the 2018 All-Orange Leader Softball Team as selected by the Leader sports staff:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Kassidy Wilbur, Bridge City

OFFENSIVE MVP: Renna Toomey, LC-M

DEFENSIVE MVP: Caitlin Denison, Bridge City

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Emma Humplik, Orangefield

COACH OF THE YEAR: Kayla Gallardo, Bridge City

FIRST TEAM

Brianna Frenzel, LC-M

Kaylee Ancelot, Orangefield

Gabby Tims, WO-S

Morgan Weaver, LC-M

Kyndall Harrison, Bridge City

Joanna Henry, LC-M

Aleah McClanahan, Bridge City

Olivia Leavings, LC-M

Kinley Gipson, Orangefield

SECOND TEAM

Abby Anderson, Bridge City

Jonee Villanueva, LC-M

Autumn Frost, Orangefield

Natilee Reed, Bridge City

Ryden Stanfield, Orangefield

Jaylynne Burch, Bridge City

Ally White, LC-M

Karlye Bramblett, Orangefield

Mariah Mims, WO-S