We continue our Spring of 2026 series honoring outstanding performances by recognizing a National Player of the Week and others who are selected as a Runner-Up Player of the Week.

Each week through June we’ll recognize and highlight top accomplishments nationwide; if you’d like to have a player considered, scroll down to see how to send in a nomination.

Games are for Monday, April 27, 2026, through Sunday, May 3, 2026…

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Here’s what’s crazy about high school softball in the spring: in some states, like Louisiana, not only are they in the playoffs but are wrapping up the season in some cases!

Then you get states like in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, where their seasons are just one-to-two weeks old, starting later because of weather.

Our honoree this week is in the latter category, but, wow has she started her season on fire….

Line Drive Softball’s National High School Player of the Week (April 22, 2026)

*** Addison DeRoche’s softball resume is already packed with significant accomplishments.

Last summer, the standout pitcher/first baseman at Cheverus High in Portland, Maine was a 1^st Team Line Drive High School All-American after an incredible sophomore season that saw her record four perfect games, a no-hitter and nine shutouts with a .045 ERA and a .063 batting average against ,while with the bat she hit .492 with nine home runs and 37 RBIs in 59 at-bats.

In the 2027 HOT 100 Rankings, Addison was ranked No. 3 in the class and No. 1 as a dual threat player.

The two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year has won state titles and is committed to Florida State.

And since she started her freshman season, Addison has led her Cheverus High team to a 41-2 conference record.

You get the picture…

Well, she’s started off her 2026 high school season in similar style as she pitched in the team’s first four games of the season, which was last week, and went 4-0 with a perfect game, a no-hitter and an ERA of 0.00.

Her Stags team outscored opponents 39-1 and in 23 innings pitched, the junior had 58 strikeouts versus just one walk (is a 58-1 strikeout-to-walks ration good?).

And she got it done at the plate with a .571 batting average and a 1.785 OPS.

Not surprisingly, opposing teams are pitching to her very carefully and she was walked seven times last week.

Head Coach John Eisenhart explains:

“In some instances, the opposing pitcher will throw to her, but they mostly pitch around her so she is doing a good job of taking her walks and being a disciplined hitter.”

“Offensively, she’s been very patient at the plate taking what the opposing pitcher has given her. She’s walked a lot, but when she’s had a chance to swing the bat, Addison’s been extremely productive.”

Coach Eisenhart says there’s been one big key to the standout two-way player’s success already this young season in the circle.

“Addison has been dominant in the circle so far and she’s doing an outstanding job getting to Strike 1 in either the first or second pitch of a batter, which is really helped to set up the rest of her pitches.”

Last night (Monday, May 4, 2025)—which doesn’t count in her being National Player of the Week for her play last week—Addison had 17 K’s in an 8-0 win over rival Windham High.

There’s some fun recent history in this battle as Cheverus High defeated the Eagles two years ago in the Regional game which went 10 innings and Addison struck out 23 to help her team get to the state title game which they won.

Last year, however, Windham beat Cheverus 1-0 in the Regional game so Monday night’s win had a special significance.

Including that game in her season totals, Addison is 5-0 with 75 strikeouts in 30 innings—a clean 2.5 K’s per inning—with just the one walk and still has that perfect 0.00 ERA.

Other season numbers to marvel at: her strike percentage is sitting at 73.51 percent and her WHIP is at .167. At the plate, she has a .556 batting average and a 1.667 OPS.

There’s been one other important accomplishment too: the Class of 2027 standout been named as a captain on her Stags team.

“We asked Addison to be one of our captains this year,” Coach Eisenhart says, “and she’s done a great job with her new role as a leader on the team.”

“She’s the only junior captain I have ever had and is leading by example through her work ethic, kindness and play on the field.”

Another significant addition Addison’s resume and she’s barely halfway through an already amazing high school softball career.

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Here are other outstanding national performances from across the continent last week…

Runner-Up Line Drive Softball National Players of the Week

*** Peyton Travis, a talented sophomore pitcher at Tuscarora (Leesburg, Va.) High, batted .833 last week (5-for-6) in two games with a 1.833 OPS and 1.000 slugging percentage.

She also shined on the mound—in three games, two of them starting, she led the Huskies to a pair of key Regional wins. She pitched 16 innings with a 0.88 ERA and a .133 batting average against.

Peyton, as a freshman pitcher last year, took her prep team to the Virginia state championship and won. That regional and state run in five games included four shutouts and her only giving up one run in the state championship game.

She was voted 1st team pitcher All-District, Region and State.

Peyton, normally a pitcher only at the high school level, entered the lineup full time this week after hitting her first high school homer run the week prior and now is full time in the line-up batting.

The team nicknamed her “POP” for “PO Peyton” due to her new batting status.

For the season she’s hitting .429 and has pitched in 12 games—seven of thee starts–with 99 strikeouts in 57 innings.

Her record is 8-1 and she’s limiting opposing hitters to just a .166 batting average against.

*** Adrienne “AD” Thompson is a senior centerfielder at Oak Ridge (Conroe, Texas) High and last week helped her team win the area championship as she batted .571—which is also her batting average for the season.

The Univ. of Houston signee has also hit seven home runs, five triples and 20 doubles with 51 RBIs and only two strikeouts all year.

AD will finish her accomplished career hold school records in multiple categories including batting average, hits, doubles, triples, runs scored and stolen bases.

She’s also a three-time Offensive Player of the Year in District 13-6A with a strong change to make it four times.

*** Natalie Flowers is a 2028 first baseman and outfielder for her MOT Charter Mustangs in Middletown, Delaware.

Last past, she delivered a dominant offensive performance from the cleanup spot in the lineup across three games.

In one game, she went 3-for-5 with two home runs (including a grand slam and an inside-the-park home run) and nine RBIs.

She followed that with a 3-for-4 performance and three RBIs and added another 3-for-5 performance with an RBI in the team’s loss against First State Military.

Across the week, she hit .643 (9-for-14) with 13 RBIs and two home runs, leading her team offensively and powering multiple high-scoring wins.

On the season, Natalie is batting .688 with 22 hits, 23 RBIs, two home runs, a .722 OBP, a 1.250 slugging percentage and a 1.972 OPS through 10 games, placing her as one of the most productive hitters in the region.

A 5-foot-11 sophomore power hitter, her path to softball success is rooted in a baseball background. She spent nine years playing baseball (Little League & travel), including playing at the Baseball for All Nationals and earning selection to the MLB Trailblazer Series, a premier developmental event for girls in baseball.

Two years ago, she transitioned to softball, where she has continued working to be a standout player and she is the only member of the Delaware Fury Travel Sports organization to hit home runs in both baseball and softball.

A three-sport high school varsity athlete since her freshman year (volleyball, basketball, softball), she earned All-Conference honors in basketball in 2026, leading the Mustangs in points and steal, while also serving as a team captain. Her multi-sport background contributes to her athleticism and impact on the field.

In the classroom, she maintains a 4.01 weighted GPA and is enrolled in advanced coursework as a sophomore after completing high school classes in middle school. Natalie intends to study Neuroscience or Biology in college.

*** Libby Burback, a sophomore corner infielder at Johnson Creek (Wisc.) High, had a strong week as she batted .429 in four games with a .500 on-base percentage, a 1.429 OPS.

She smacked two home runs and had RBIs for the week in the in the 3-spot for her team. On defense, she played error-free at third base and helped convert a double play.

*** Staying in Wisconsin, sophomore catcher/infielder Austyn Kinch came up big in a pair of games for Mineral Point High as she went 6-for-7 with a .857 batting average and had three doubles and a home run.

On defense, she was perfect behind the plate and no opposing base runners tried to test her arm.

For the season, Austyn is hitting .525 and has used her strong framing and receiving skills to help her pitching staff compile a 1.83 ERA and holding teams scoreless in six of the 18 games this season.

*** Ava Milewski, a 2028 infielder and utility player who is behind the plate for her Archmere Academy (Claymont, Del.) team, led her team last week with a .714 batting average, a .727 on-base percentage and a 2.013 OPS.

She also didn’t strikeout in three games and stole two bases.

Interestingly, Ava is catching for her team this season despite never having played that position previously and played error free for another week.

She’s been on fire since April 21 when she made some adjustments to her offensive approach and has hit .750 with two home runs and two triples since then.

*** Emma Davies, the sophomore pitcher/utility player for Ursuline (Youngstown, Ohio) High, pitched seven shutout innings against their rival to help her team secure the win 3-0 in a tightly contested match-up.

Emma allowed just two hits over seven innings, striking out five while walking only two, consistently keeping hitters off balance and out of scoring position.

Four out of the seven innings were 13 pitches or fewer and for the season she has 85 strikeouts in 62.2 innings with a 1.30 ERA and a .192 batting average against.

Offensively, she’s batting .421 with a .500 on-base percentage and has nine doubles and two triples.

Emma has recently been invited and will be attending OnDeck’s Colorado Jamboree this summer in Aurora, Colorado. 

*** Texas Tech-bound senior Sydona “SJ” Meiser, a first baseman and outfielder for Keller (Texas) High, helped her team to a pair of playoff wins in the Texas UIL 6A 2nd round.

In the first game, she went 3-for-4 with a home run and triple to drive in a run and in game 2 she went 1-for-2 with a home run and two walks.

For the two games combined, SJ’s batting average was .667 with a .750 on-base percentage, a 2.000 slugging percentage and a 2.750 OPS.

*** Callee Leffler, a Florida State commit and two-time PGF All-American, batted .800 last week for her Pine Grove Area (Pa.) Lady Cardinals team with a .889 on-base percentage, a 3.689 OPS.

A true 5-tool player who can change the game with one swing, she also drove in five runs, scored six herself and walked four times.

The team’s record is 17-1 and for the spring she’s batting .690 with a .797 on-base percentage, a 2.559 OPS and 1.762 slugging percentage.

Of her 29 hits, the centerfielder had nine home runs, six triples and six doubles to drive in 32 runs, score 45, walk 21 times and not have a single strikeout.

Also, very impressively she’s gone 21-for-21 in stolen bases.

*** Senior shortstop London Hoffmaster went 15-for-22 last week for her Three Rivers (Mich.) High team and had five home runs, two triples and a pair of doubles while collecting 19 RBIs and 13 runs scored.

The Western Michigan-bound player, who is ranked No. 45 in the Line Drive 2026 rankings, also was flawless on defense as she had zero errors in 22 chances to lead her team to a 6-0 record.

For the season, London is hitting .667 with 10 home runs, four triples and 12 doubles. She has 45 RBIs, 41 runs scored, seven intentional walks and only one strikeout in 63 at-bats.

Defensively, she’s made just four errors in 51 total chances.

London also has a 2.169 OPS and a 1.460 slugging percentage which has helped Three Rivers to a 15-2 record.

Off the field, London wants to get a degree in Nursing specifically Pediatric Oncology. When London was four years old, her then five-year-old brother Lincoln was diagnosed with leukemia.

The softball standout wants to help families going through the same experience and, fortunately, Lincoln is a healthy 18 year old now and fully recovered after going through three years of treatment.

A fun softball note: London is also cousins with Kali Heivilin, the outstanding shortstop at Alabama who graduated last year, and they are close and train together frequently.

*** Bailee Packer, a freshman catcher at Urbana (Ohio) High, played in three games last week and had an incredible stretch where she had two grand slams and four home runs in total which drove in 20 runs.

She also batted .833 with a .857 OBP, a 2.940 OPS, a 2.083 slugging percentage and of her 10 hits, she also had three doubles and three singles in addition to the quarter of homers.

Currently in Ohio she is No. 3 in RBIs, No 2 in Ohio Div. IV and No. 1 in the Central Buckeye Conference.

Behind the plate, Bailee caught 19 innings and threw out two of five attempted steals and also had two picks.

*** Julianne Jones, a talented eighth grader playing varsity at Randolph School (Huntsville, Ala.), played in just one game last week due to the start of playoffs, but made it count both ways.

Offensively, she went 2-for-2 with a home run and triple and three RBIs and also had a steal and hit by pitch.

In the circle, she pitched a seven-inning shutout with just two hits allowed while she struck out 18 in a 9-0 win.

For the season, the Class of 2030 two-way standout is hitting .586 with a .649 OBP, a 1.138 slugging percentage and a 1.787 OPS.

Pitching-wise, she had 102 strikeouts in 64.2 innings over 14 games.

Julianne was also ranked No. 72 in the 2030 HOT 100 and the No. 28 pitcher.

In addition to being a stellar softball player, “JJ” is also is an outdoor track standout competing at the varsity level. She competes in the shot put, 60-meter sprint and is the anchor leg for the 4×400.

She helped her 4×400 team compete for state qualification and she was the only eighth grader to receive a varsity award for any winter sport for her indoor track efforts.

Juliana also competes at the JV level in volleyball as a setter

*** Emily Roth, a standout 2029 P/CIF for Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, Tenn., played in two games last week and went 6-for-8 (.750) with three home runs, two doubles and seven RBIs.

Her pitching stats including her giving up no earned runs in 9.2 innings with six K’s and two wins.

Through 28 games this season, Emily is hitting .397 with six home runs and 29 RBIs.

In the circle, she’s tossed 106 innings with 76 K’s and a 2.45 ERA.

Emily throws upwards of 61 mph and three years ago played in the Little League World Series for the Michigan team.

*** Jia Soe, a junior catcher and lefty hitter at Ardrey Kell (Charlotte, N.C.) High, played in two games and came up big on both sides of the ball.

She batted .429 and on defense threw out two would-be base stealers and also picked off another runner.

*** Addison “Addie” Moses is a sophomore right-handed pitcher and centerfielder at Grosse Point (Mich.) High and had 28 strikeouts in 18.2 innings pitched last week with a 1.714 WHIP.

She also helped her cause by hitting .375 with a .444 on-base percentage and now for the season has 83 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched.

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Media

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• Apr. 28: McLaine Hudson—South Warren (Bowling Green, Ky.) High
• Apr. 22: Finlee Williams—Melissa (Texas)
• Apr. 14:  Addison Davis—Pearl River Central (Carriere, Miss.)
• Apr. 7:    Karmen Vazquez—Hanford (Calif.) West
• Mar. 31: Morgan Maxwell—West Forsyth (N.C.)
• Mar. 24: Siena Greenlinger—Chaminade College Preparatory (West Hills, Calif.)
• Mar. 17: Presley Kilgore— Rains (Emory, Texas)
• Mar. 10: Emma Pynes—Cornerstone Charter Academy (Belle Isle, Fla.)
• Mar. 3:   Avery Howerton—Whitesboro (Texas) High
• Feb. 24: Krimson Calhoun—Thompson (Alabaster, Ala.) High
• Feb. 17: Lolo Gamble—Dripping Springs (Texas) High

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Nomination Process

Each week during the spring and summer high school seasons, Line Drive Softball is honoring a National High School Player of the Week.

The posts are published every Tuesday and the cutoff for submitting the nominations is each Monday at 5 pm EST/2 pm PST.

We’re looking for standouts who excelled in the circle, at the plate or in the field so be sure to nominate your favorite performance(s) by submitting the following:

• Player Name
• Grad Year (example: Class of 2026 or Senior)
• Position(s)
• High School Team Name (with city/state)
• Stats for the Week (be as detailed as possible!)
• Up-to-date Season Stats (where possible)
• Recruiting Information (if applicable)
• Any interesting Background Info on the player
• Photos: action and/or head shots (as available)
• If possible, Contact Info (player, parent, coach… if we’d like more info or quotes)

Email info and photos (1-4 as available) by the cutoff of Monday at 5 pm EST/2 pm PST to: Brentt.Eads@LineDriveMedia.com