Mick Cronin uses poker analogy to describe NIL era: āIn the middle of the game, they changed the gameā
Mick Cronin uses poker analogy to explain NIL impact on UCLA
Alieya Garner has made a significant impact in Lancaster softball, earning a place among the sport's elite in the area. Her performance continues to elevate the team's status and legacy.
Licking Valley's Chloe Cooperrider heads home to score during the Panthers' 7-1 victory against visiting Lancaster on March 30, 2026.
Lancaster's Alieya Garner throws to first from third base for an out during the Golden Gales' 7-1 loss at Licking Valley on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley's D'Neya Dennis throws to first from shortstop for an out during the Panthers' 7-1 victory against visiting Lancaster on March 30, 2026.
Lancaster's Kileigh Rohr pitches during the Golden Gales' 7-1 loss at Licking Valley on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley's Dani Lambert hits during the Panthers' 7-1 victory against visiting Lancaster on March 30, 2026.
Alieya Garner has established herself as a top player in Lancaster softball, contributing significantly to her team's success.
Lancaster lost to Licking Valley with a score of 7-1 in their recent matchup on March 30, 2026.
Alieya Garner's performance is pivotal as it enhances Lancaster's reputation and legacy in the sport.
Lancaster faced Licking Valley on March 30, 2026.
Mick Cronin uses poker analogy to explain NIL impact on UCLA
Robbinsville boys track and field claims first NCHSAA state title with 100 points!
Abby Roque's OT goal secures Game 1 victory for Victoire over Charge
Michael Malone adds former UNC champion Brandon Robinson to his coaching staff.
Emma McMyler and Madison Reemsnyder reunite at the LPGA's Queen City Championship!
Arizona baseball scores late to defeat Oklahoma State 7-4 in opener
See every story in Sports ā including breaking news and analysis.
Lancaster's Reese Hughes watches the ball as she heads into third base during the Golden Gales' 7-1 loss at Licking Valley on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley's Emory Whisner pitches during the Panthers' 7-1 victory against visiting Lancaster on March 30, 2026.
Lancaster's Kendall Brown catches a popup during the Golden Gales' 7-1 loss at Licking Valley on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley's Emory Whisner watches her home run during the Panthers' 7-1 victory against visiting Lancaster on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
1 / 38
Licking Valley's Chloe Cooperrider heads home to score during the Panthers' 7-1 victory against visiting Lancaster on March 30, 2026.
1 / 38
Licking Valley's Chloe Cooperrider heads home to score during the Panthers' 7-1 victory against visiting Lancaster on March 30, 2026.
2 / 38
Lancaster's Alieya Garner throws to first from third base for an out during the Golden Gales' 7-1 loss at Licking Valley on March 30, 2026.
3 / 38
Licking Valley's D'Neya Dennis throws to first from shortstop for an out during the Panthers' 7-1 victory against visiting Lancaster on March 30, 2026.
4 / 38
Lancaster's Kileigh Rohr pitches during the Golden Gales' 7-1 loss at Licking Valley on March 30, 2026.
5 / 38
Licking Valley's Dani Lambert hits during the Panthers' 7-1 victory against visiting Lancaster on March 30, 2026.
6 / 38
Lancaster's Reese Hughes watches the ball as she heads into third base during the Golden Gales' 7-1 loss at Licking Valley on March 30, 2026.
7 / 38
Licking Valley's Emory Whisner pitches during the Panthers' 7-1 victory against visiting Lancaster on March 30, 2026.
8 / 38
Lancaster's Kendall Brown catches a popup during the Golden Gales' 7-1 loss at Licking Valley on March 30, 2026.
9 / 38
Licking Valley's Emory Whisner watches her home run during the Panthers' 7-1 victory against visiting Lancaster on March 30, 2026.
10 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
11 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
12 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
13 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
14 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
15 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
16 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
17 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
18 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
19 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
20 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
21 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
22 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
23 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
24 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
25 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
26 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
27 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
28 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
29 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
30 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
31 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
32 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
33 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
34 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
35 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
36 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
37 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
38 / 38
Licking Valley beats visiting Lancaster 7-1 on March 30, 2026.
LANCASTER ā If there were a Mount Rushmore for Lancaster softball players, it would be tough to pick those because there is an outstanding list to choose from.
They have left their own legacies, but there just might be one that stands alone as far as who has had the most consistent career.
As senior catcher Kendall Brown wraps her sterling four-year career playing for the Lady Gales, she certainly has etched her name on the mountain top of Lancaster softball greats, and it starts with her showing up and being consistent every day, on and off the field. She is a great player and even better teammate.
Her work ethic is second to none, and in turn, she has become elite.
Lancaster's Kendall Brown rounds third base after hitting a leadoff home run during the 2025 regional final game against Gahanna.
āConsistent is the perfect word to describe her, and she is also clutch and calm,ā Lancaster coach Allie Kinniard said. āShe wants to be at bat when the game is on the line. She gives 100 percent to this team and whatever it needs her to do. She has a great personality. She is serious, but she has enough calm to keep everyone else calm. She is consistent in her behavior and on the field. She is also the hardest worker in the room, and no one is going to outwork her, which is why she has had so much success. The most special thing about her is her selflessness.ā
Brown shows up and does her job day in and day out, which explains why she had a 55-game hitting streak, dating back to her sophomore year. The hitting streak ranks second all-time in Ohio. Another amazing stat, during her four-year varsity career, is that in over 300 career plate appearances, Brown has struck out only one time.
āThat is a crazy stat, and sometimes I canāt even believe it, but itās about wasting a strike,ā Brown said. āIf I see a strike, Iām going to swing at it. Iām not up there to waste pitches. If I see a good pitch, Iām swinging at it. I want to do damage every pitch. There is weight on my shoulder every time I go up to bat, and there are expectations, but this year, I have dropped the expectations, and I just go up and swing the bat. I put such high expectations on myself, and at the beginning of the season, I wasnāt doing as well as I wanted to, so now itās just going up there and telling myself that Iām going to make good contact. I donāt really have a plan going up to the plate, which is not a very good thing, but it works out for me. I swing at strikes and try to make good contact.ā
Brown is having an outstanding season this year. She leads the team with a .632 (43-for-68) batting average, including 12 home runs and 37 RBIs. She has a 1.338 slugging percentage, has 10 doubles, and has walked 21 times.
She is a big reason the Lady Gales have turned things around after starting the season with a 3-6 record. They are currently on a 13-game winning streak, including a 7-5 win over Hilliard Bradley, ranked No. 2 in the state. Brown played a huge part in helping Lancaster reach the state tournament for the first time in school history in 2025.
Lancaster senior catcher Kendall Brown had a 55-game hitting streak, which ranks second all-time in Ohio. During her four-year varsity career, she has struck out only one time.
What sets Brown apart and makes her elite is her self-motivation. She understood that to take her game to another level, she had to put the work in, not some of the time, but all of the time. She was consistent in her workouts, and it has paid off.
āComing in as a freshman, just knowing that this is such a prestigious program and that there are going to be a lot of seniors above me that Iām going to have to fight for playing time for,ā Brown said. āI was in and out of the lineup my freshman year, and it motivated me. I pushed myself every day to get better. My sister, Rylan, played for four years for Lancaster, so I would hit with her when I was younger, and I would drag my dad to the field every day of the week, trying to get some swings in and catching reps in. For me, it was all about trying to find that motivation.
āYou have to find it yourself and find reasons to go hit every day and work out every day. No one is going to get motivated for you. If your parents have to tell you to go hit and things like that, thatās not you loving the game. Thatās you wanting to do it for someone else. But when you go do it yourself and want to be the best player you can be, and figure out how to be the best player I can be, that is what it is all about. Just pushing yourself to the limit.ā
As Brownās sterling high school career ends soon, it is bittersweet. She hopes it ends in Akron again at the state tournament. With the Lady Galesā resurgence, she feels like the pieces are in place to make another deep tournament run. She doesnāt want to think about the end, but she is grateful and humbled to play for Lancaster and the legacy she has left.
āI wouldnāt be here if all the amazing players before me hadnāt paved the way,ā Brown said. āIām just a step in this historic history of Lancaster softball, and just knowing that I have put myself in that place is an amazing feeling. There have been so many amazing players that have played here, and I am excited to say I played for Lancaster softball and will always be a proud alumnus.ā
Tom Wilson is a sportsĀ reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him atĀ 740-689-5150Ā or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on X at twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Lancaster's Kendall Brown leaves a lasting legacy for Lancaster softball