Athlete of the Year, softball: Mariah Dawson, Union

Union's Mariah Dawson is The Columbian's All-Region softball player of the year. (STEVEN LANE/The Columbian)

For the most part, you can forget about the regular season in high school softball. It is the postseason when reputations are earned.

For her postseason play, to go along with her fine regular season, Union junior pitcher Mariah Dawson is The Columbian's All-Region player of the year.

In 11 playoff games in May, Dawson went 10-1 with a 0.49 ERA. She struck out 139 batters in 74 innings, leading the Titans to a third-place finish at the Class 3A state tournament. In the final game, against league foe Prairie, Dawson struck out 16 in a three-hit shutout and also drove in both runs of a 2-0 victory.

That final Saturday in May capped quite a season for all of Southwest Washington.

Union and Prairie both earned trophies in the 3A tourney.

Mountain View (4A) and Columbia River (3A) made it to the final day of their state tournaments. And Woodland, behind the pitching of Emily Holt, took third in the 2A tournament.

Kelso, meanwhile, also represented the 4A GSHL with a state championship.

Dawson and the Union Titans would love a title of their own next year.



Advice to a younger player: "Never give up on yourself. Don't ever let anybody who says anything negative to you influence you. I was always told I was too small to pitch, short people can't pitch. Glad I didn't believe them."

(Note: Dawson is 5 feet, 2 inches. Yet, in three seasons, she has 752 strikeouts. The unofficial state record is 999 by Skyview's Whitney Baker. )

Have you met any famous people?: "Half of the USA Olympics softball team. (Including pitcher) Lisa Fernandez. She's my idol. She's short, and she gets it done."

Thoughts on being named the All-Region player of the year: "Very exciting. I've never had anything like that, this big. I was pretty speechless."

What is it like to play for Union, to represent the school?: "Our school has a lot of pride. At the beginning of each year, they teach freshmen how to be a Union Titan, how to be a leader. The focus is on leadership, team bonding, and working together. And everybody is so spirited. I love it."

What does softball mean to you?: "Softball is my life, year-in and year-out. It's kept me focused on the big picture, my dreams. It keeps me on track. Honestly, I don't know where I'd be without it. It's driven me to want to go to college."

How did you get your start in softball?: (Dawson played baseball beginning at the age of 6, and she did that for three or four years.) "My dad thought, at that point, I needed to switch to a girls sport. I said, 'I didn't want to play with them. They're no good.' Then I tried it. 'What's this underhanded stuff? Oh. This is a lot harder than overhand.' That's when I started with softball."

Most influential coach: "I can't honestly say I have one. So many coaches have taught me so many different things."

Memorable moment from the season: "Having to run until we puked at practice. They were called 'Hawk Specials' (for assistant coach Jamie Hawkins). Figure 8s around cones millions of times. After that, we were all stronger."



Thoughts on being named the All-Region player of the year: "Very exciting. I've never had anything like that, this big. I was pretty speechless."



Most embarrassing moment in softball: (While playing for La Center) I hit a home run and was all excited. I tripped and fell on my face going around first base. It was so embarrassing. The whole crowd was laughing at me."



What is one thing that some might be surprised to learn about you?: "I do pitching instruction with little pitchers. I like to go to the different camps to work with the younger kids."



Favorite teacher: Matt Cooke, who taught math to Mariah during her seventh- and eighth-grade years as well as her sophomore year at La Center.



What is a goal, associated with your sport, that you would like to accomplish in the next few years?: "My ultimate goal would be to coach a college team."



What is a goal, outside of your sport, that you would like to accomplish in the next few years?: "I want to be a nurse. I want to get into the nursing field. I want to be successful in college, stay on track with my grades."



What is one thing about your sport that most people do not understand?: "It's harder than it looks. to hit the pitches. A lot of people say, 'It's softball It's easy.' They don't realize the pitcher is 40 feet away."



Hobbies: "Being outdoors, hiking, camping, hanging out with family."



What will you take most from this past season? "All the team bonding activities we ever did."