Paige Painter had several important roles with Community R-6 softball this season.

The senior was a key leader on the team, the Lady Trojans’ most dangerous bat in the middle of the lineup and one of two arms Community relied on in the circle. Painter’s effectiveness in all of those roles earned her a Class 1 first-team utility/designated player all-state selection last week to make her the first all-state Lady Trojan since Emmi Johnson made it as a second-team catcher in 2020.

At the plate, whenever Community needed a big hit, Painter was usually the one to step up before teeing off on a ball. The Central Activities Conference MVP and all-district and all-region player led the team in batting average at .391, RBI with 47 and home runs  with four. Prior to this season, Painter had only two home runs in her career so her slugging percentage also shot up to .591 to go with a .446 on-base. 

Painter did her part preventing runs as well, pitching to a 2.69 ERA and 11-1 record in 83 innings. When she wasn’t pitching, she was at first base working to a .968 fielding percentage with 20 assists and four errors.

“She was outstanding at first base,” head coach Kendra Murphy said. “She had several really big line-drive catches along with some huge scoops that saved some big outs. In the circle, she only had one loss on the year. At the plate, she was our leading run producer with 47 RBI. She excelled in all 3 areas. I feel like that is the definition of an all-state utility player.”