Kinsey Clopton made plenty of noise after her arrival from Kansas.

Mostly, it was the sound of a ball smacking the glove of catcher Tiffany Sowder for one of her 132 strikeouts this season. Yes, the Bloomington South junior barged into the softball scene this year, earning the honor of Herald-Times Player of the Year, but it was to fit in and to set a tone, not take over.

The Charleston Southern commit was almost untouchable as a pitcher against the area teams on the Panthers' schedule. She was also the only one named All-State (in 3A/4A) by the state coaches association.

"She moved in here and made an impact immediately," South coach Meg Montgomery said. "From Day 1, she got on campus and put in the work. She was at all our open gyms and was gelling and working with our team. She's a hard-working player and even on off-days, she was lifting and conditioning and working on her pitching."

She also started asking questions, listening and learning about her new school and new team. This from a player who already knows plenty about the game of softball having grown up in it. Her mother played in college, her dad coaches and her sister is playing for Oklahoma State.

"She reached out to the players for guidance," Montgomery said. "She just didn't come in and take over. I've got several great players on our team and she learned how we do things and became friends with the players. She really started to work hard. If she didn't get the reps she wanted at first base, for instance, she'd stay after."

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It paid off for her and South. Unable to pitch early on due to an injury, she tore through the back half of the season with a 2.69 ERA, 132 strikeouts and just 23 walks over 65 innings. Once she got her curveball in order, she had it all working on a road trip to Linton, breaking the school record with 20 strikeouts in one game.

"Pitching-wise, we knew where she was coming in," Montgomery said. "She could only play at first base, but then to watch her push through that injury, working on her pitches, to get them to spin a little more. For her, it was more about placement rather than velocity.

"Mentally, she became a stronger pitcher. The thing I noticed is how when she was pitching to batters, she was making smarter decisions."

At the plate, Clopton also helped out, hitting .305 with 11 RBI and seven doubles. She led the team with 10 walks.

"She started being more patient at the plate and being smarter in her pitch selection," Montgomery said. "Fielding-wise, she took charge and she cleaned up a lot of stuff at first base."

As she worked to make herself better, she was a great example for her teammates.

"When you get that caliber of player, not only did she watch how the program works, she helped elevate and push other players on the team," Montgomery said. "That's what you want, for them to push each other. She led by going out and doing and getting the work done.

"That's the biggest thing I noticed, is that she made other players step up and get more out of themselves."

Herald-Times All-Area Softball

FIRST TEAM

TAYLOR BERNARD, Owen Valley, Jr. C/3B

One of the two big bats for the Patriots in her first season as a starter. Hit .452 (33-73) with 38 RBIs, five doubles and eight homers. Scored 33 runs. All-WIC.

MADI BLAND, Edgewood, Fr. OF

Slid into the cleanup spot and batted .422 (38-90) and tied for a team-high with 35 RBI, piling up nine doubles, four triples and seven home runs. Stole 10 bases and scored a team-high 40 runs. All-WIC.

NAT BURNS, North, Sr. C

Hit .500 (34-68) with 24 RBI, 21 runs scored, seven doubles and five homers, giving her a career total of 23. Had .824 slugging percentage and struck out just twice all season while drawing nine walks for a .537 on-base percentage. All-CI. Three-time All-Area selection. Will play at Florida International.

KINSEY CLOPTON, South, Jr. P/1B

H-T Player of the Year was a great addition to the lineup after moving in from Kansas. Pitching use was limited by an injury but still finished with a 2.69 ERA, 132 strikeouts and just 23 walks over 65 innings pitched. Broke school record with 20 strikeouts in one game. At the plate, hit .305 (18-59) with 11 RBI, seven doubles. All-CI. Softball Coaches Association 4A All-State. Charleston Southern commit.

JILLIYN GARDNER, South, Jr. 2B

Leadoff batter set the table for the Panthers well, hitting a team-high .420 (34-81), scoring 31 runs, three doubles. Had a .472 on-base percentage and stole team-best 21 bases. All-CI.

TAYLOR MONROE, Owen Valley, Jr. SS

Louisville commit tore cover off the ball with a .571 average (44-77), 37 RBI, nine doubles, four triples and an area-best 12 homers. Scored 40 runs and stole 14 bases. All-WIC.

JAYLEN ROBINSON, Edgewood, Sr. P

Staff ace for the Mustangs, went 18-7 with a 3.42 ERA, 119 strikeouts to just 40 walks over 147 1/3 innings. Also batted .345 (20-58) with 12 RBIs and three triples. All-WIC.

MALLORY SHELTON, Eastern Greene, Sr. SS

T-Birds top player again this year after an All-Area season in 2022. Batted .394 (26-66) with eight doubles, three triples, five homers and 22 RBI. Also stole 14 bases.

ELLA SPROUL, Edgewood, Fr. 1B

Another of the fab freshmen for the Mustangs. Hit a blistering .436 (34-78) with 34 RBIs and five doubles. Solid glove with just six errors in 162 chances.

PIPER STEPHENS, Edgewood, Jr. SS

Leadoff hitter got the ball rolling for Mustangs' strong lineup. Second on the team in hitting at .484 (44-91) with eight RBIs and 31 runs scored. Had a team-high 17 steals.

MELEAH VEST, Edgewood, Sr. 3B

Biggest hammer in a big-hitting lineup, finishing at a team-best .495 (45-91) and tied for team lead at 35 RBI. Clubbed eight doubles and a team-best nine homers. Scored 36 runs. All-WIC.

SECOND TEAM

ALLY BLAND, Edgewood, Fr. DP/P: Batted .366 (34-93) while driving in 14 and scoring 20 runs. Stole 12 bases. In the circle, went 4-1 with a 2.79 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 37.2 IP.

AKASHA BURTON, South, So. CF: Made a big splash this year batting .403 (29-72) with 17 RBI. Had seven doubles. All-CI.

MORGAN COCKERILL, South, Jr. RF: Hit .328 (22-67) out of the No. 3 spot while driving in a team-high 20 RBI. Had five doubles, two homers and 12 runs scored. Made six appearances as a pitcher, striking out 14 in 12 innings of work.

KENDYL FEUTZ, North, So., P/1B: Handled most of the pitching duties and also hit .333 (24-72) with 14 RBI, scored 21 runs and slugged five doubles, four homers.

ALAYNA FLYNN, Edgewood, Sr. 2B: Vacuum on the infield with just errors. Three-sport standout hit .321 (34-106) with five doubles and 16 RBI. Scored 29 runs and swiped 13 bases. Second-time All-Area. All-WIC.

KALYN GREENE, Owen Valley, So. 2B: Consistent slugger for the Patriots batted .375 (33-88) with 12 doubles, four triples and 27 RBI while scoring 22 runs.

KAYLYNN HIGGINS, North, Sr. CF: One of the top hitters for the Cougars at .333 (26-78) with two homers and 20 RBI while scoring 16 runs.

MARIN JACOBS, South, Sr. P: Repeat All-area pick and St. Mary-of-the-Woods commit had another solid season for the Panthers. She hit .302 (19-63) with five doubles, three homers and 13 RBI. Struck out just four times. Posted a 2.73 ERA, with 67 strikeouts to just 23 walks in 66 2/3 innings.

MOLLY KLEIN, North, So. P/2B: Split pitching duties with Feutz and hit .303 with seven RBI and 13 runs scored. All-CI.

CLARA MCGEE, Eastern Greene, Jr. C: Backstop provided some pop to the T-Bird lineup this year with three homers and 20 RBI while batting .390.

TAYLOR YORK, Owen Valley, Jr. CF: Multi-sport standout batted .369 (31-84) and was trouble on the basepaths, scoring 29 runs and piling up 16 steals.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington South's Kinsey Clopton leads H-T All-Area softball team