Golden Graham

Jolene Graham picks up a handful of dirt from inside the pitching circle, rubs it on her hands, winds up and rockets the ball toward home plate.

More dirt on the next pitch, and then the next — the rosin bag isn't gritty enough for her, how fitting.

The fiery, loud Sutter High senior turns to remind her team of how many outs they've recorded and where to go with the ball before making each delivery.

This routine illustrated her dominance from the circle, but it wasn't the only area where Graham made her mark in 2010.

From her powerful bat to the leadership she provided to a young team, Graham was the most influential player on Mid-Valley softball diamonds this season and the spark plug that drove the Huskies to their third consecutive Northern Section crown.

And after being named MVP of the Butte View League, Northern Section Player of the Year and MVP of the Lions All-Star game earlier this month, Graham has added to her long list of accolades by being named the Appeal-Democrat All-Area Player of the Year.

"I love running the bases, hitting the ball, pitching, catching — I just have a love for the game," Graham said. "I like it all. I wouldn't want to do anything else." A four-year varsity starter for the Huskies, Graham moved from being an all-area catcher into the pitching circle during her final year wearing blue and gold.

Once there, she picked up where Jessica Moore had left off, going 14-2 with a 1.87 ERA and holding opponents to a paltry .148 batting average.

But as impressive as her pitching numbers may have been, Graham was perhaps even better at the plate.

Her .475 batting average was second on the team only to Courtney Gravel's .486, and her 27 RBIs were 17 more than the next highest player on the team. She also slugged a solid .881 on the year and her 11 doubles and three home runs were both team highs.

To put her season in perspective, consider that Graham drove in 27 runs and crossed the plate 16 times while allowing just 22 runs of her own.

"She swings the bat well and she's deceiving because she's fast. She's big and her speed takes people by surprise sometimes," Sutter coach Raoul Singh said. "She hit well, she pitched well and helped keep the team together. She's a great leader and proved that she's in no one's shadow."

Graham's play in the clutch also set her apart from the rest of the crowd. She smashed a two-run home run and struck out nine in the Huskies' 4-2 championship victory at top-seeded West Valley on May 22. And in the four title games she has played in for Sutter, Graham drove in the first run in each one.

"I love the competition and I love the pressure — that's why I play the game," said Graham, who has never been modest when speaking her mind. "I like being the center of attention and thrive on people not believing in me."

Graham said that her senior year was by far her biggest achievement since the team accomplished so much without the services of Moore, her close friend who just wrapped up a stellar first season at the University of Oregon.

"The last couple of years it was Jessica, Jessica, Jessica — but this season it was a complete team effort. I wanted to be the best leader I could be, and we achieved kind of a Cinderella story," she said. "Nobody thought we could do it, but we like to prove people wrong."

Graham, who received a full-ride scholarship to play at Odessa College in Texas next season added, "Luckily this year we won and hopefully they'll continue the tradition."