Heritage softball standouts Kierra Camp and MaCarri Wilkerson have been honored with Class AAAAA all-state team selections after their performances on the diamond in 2013.
The duo helped lead Heritage to its first Region 2-AAAAA championship since 2001, capping off a stellar senior season with a 26-7 record in 2013.
Camp led the Patriots with 14 wins on the mound, going 14-6 in her final season with 185 strikeouts in 133 innings. Camp gave up just 10 earned runs throughout the season, finishing the year with a .52 earned run average. Opposing batters hit just .137 against the senior.
At the plate, Camp hit .405 with 34 total hits and two home runs, both against region rival Loganville. Camp scored 29 runs while sending home 21 batters, finishing the season with a .524 slugging percentage.
During her career with the Patriots, Camp was a four-year All-Region honoree and was named Region Pitcher of the Year three times from 2011-2013. Camp’s nomination to the all-state team was her second in as many seasons.
"Kierra has been a force in the circle for four straight years,” Heritage coach Jason McBay said. “She is a different person on practice days and on game days. She is able to get into a zone where there is nothing but her and the catcher. Kierra has pitched every big game we have played the past three years and her leaving will give several girls the opportunity to step up their game.
“You can never truly replace a pitcher that has been as successful as Kierra,” he said. “She will always be mentioned as one of the three elite pitchers in Heritage softball's history.”
Camp will continue her career at Georgia Southern next season with the Golden Eagles.
“She is a great player and an even better student,” McBay said. “We will miss her and wish her nothing but the best."
Joining Camp on the all-state team is Wilkerson, who became one of the Patriots’ most-feared players at the plate in 2013.
Wilkerson hit .453 for the Patriots this season, totaling 43 hits, including a home run and seven triples. The senior scored 31 runs while knocking in 35 RBIs. Wilkerson was also perfect on the base path, going 39-for-39 on stolen base opportunities this season.
Wilkerson has been honored as a Region 8-AAAAA all-region player in 2012 and 2013 and was named the Region 8-AAAAA Player of the Year this past season.
"Carri has been the heart and soul of our team the past two seasons,” McBay said. “She is a hard worker, a vocal leader, a great teammate and an even better friend. I feel like her junior year she worked hard to really improve her game. This year, she worked hard to make everyone else better around her.”
McBay said that Wilkerson’s improvement during his tenure has been nothing short of amazing. Wilkerson hit .100 in the Patriots’ summer league before the start of her junior season, but McBay challenged her to become a leader and role model for her teammates, a role Wilkerson eventually thrived in.
“She took my challenge to heart ,and I never imagined how far it would carry her,” McBay said. “Very seldom in life do you get to see the fruits of your labor so quickly. However, when you believe in yourself and you buy into working hard, can really change the course or path of your life. The sky is the limit.”
Wilkerson has yet to sign with a collegiate program.
The Patriots finished the season with a perfect 8-0 mark in region play in 2013, falling in the second round of the state tournament to Pope in two games.
