RAINSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – The Plainview softball team has been one of the teams to beat the past few seasons in Class 3A, and a big reason for that is because of the play of Lily Boswell. The senior pitcher recently recorded her 1000th career strike for the top-ranked Bears. For that, she is the Hiley Mazda Key Athlete of the week.

“I like striking people out. It’s awesome, it makes me proud of myself. I feel like I’m in control of the game, not that I just love to be in control but I get to determine how the game goes,” Boswell said.

“She’s a warrior and that’s what they call her. When she’s not in the game, she’s a great teammate and they call her the dugout warrior. For her to get a thousand strikeouts and not have to pitch every inning of every game is a real accomplishment for her,” Plainview softball head coach Jeff Brooks added.

Boswell has been a main part of the Plainview roster since the seventh grade and has been effective in the circle.

“We’ve been lucky, she’s not one of those pitchers that gets to pitch every inning of every game so it’s been a blessing for her that we’ve had some pretty good pitchers around her where she doesn’t have to pitch all of the time. She’s able to throw a couple times a week and keeps her velocity up and helps her with her control and it’s not as tiring for her,” Brooks said.

And reaching this milestone of 1000 career strikeouts this season hasn’t come without some challenges, as Boswell has had to work to get back to 100 percent.

“I had surgery this past year so coming into this year, I’ve had physical therapy and stuff like that just to get back to where I need to be. My teammates have been encouraging me and I’ve gotten back to where I need to be,” Boswell said.

Boswell and her catcher Mia Tidmore are the only two seniors on this Plainview team. The two have been playing together since the seventh grade and are hoping to lead this Bears team to their second blue map in the past three seasons. 

“I feel like we’re definitely a lot more motivated than we were these past years because everyone just seems very strong together and I think that our energy has really been through the roof. So I’m really glad everyone’s on the same page this year. They’re all my best friends so I’m glad I’ve gotten to be a part of it for so many years,” Boswell said.

We are always looking for standout student-athletes in the Tennessee Valley to feature! If you have a high-school-aged athlete that you would like to nominate for Hiley Mazda Key Athlete of the week, you can email olivia.whitmire@whnt.com, claudia.chakamian@whnt.com or sports@whnt.com.