Via press release.

Waterford senior pitcher  Kelli Connors has been named the  Gatorade State Player of the Year. Connors is the first player from Waterford to be selected with this honor.

The 5-foot-9 senior right-hander led the Lancers to a 24-2 record. The Lancers win a fourth straight ECC title and advanced to the Class M state semifinals. A two-time returning Class M All-State selection, Connors owned a 20-1 record in the circle with a 0.87 ERA and 151 strikeouts in 137 innings-pitched entering the final four. She batted .379 with one home run and 19 RBI through 25 games. A member of Waterford’s 2009 and 2010 Class M state championship teams, she entered the state tournament with a 67-4 career pitching record.

Also a volleyball standout, Connors has maintained a 3.04 GPA in the classroom. In addition to donating her time as a youth softball instructor, she has volunteered as a physical education teacher’s assistant at The Friendship School and on behalf of The Colby Sousa Scholarship Fund.

“She’s a hard-working kid,” said Kate Peruzzotti, head coach at rival Fitch High. “What I admire most about her is how well she’s done over the past four years—just the growth has been amazing, how she’s dominated in the circle over her entire high school career. It says a lot about her. She’s been remarkable.”

Connors has signed a National Letter of Intent to play softball on scholarship at Florida Southern College this fall.