Eagle's Landing Christian Academy Standout Named Gatorade Georgia Softball Player of the Year

CHICAGO (June 11, 2009) — In its third decade of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with ESPN RISE, today announced Hope Rush of Eagle's Landing Christian Academy as its 2008-09 Gatorade Georgia Softball Player of the Year. Rush is the first Gatorade Georgia Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from Eagle's Landing Christian Academy.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Rush as Georgia’s best high school softball player. Rush is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year award to be announced in June.

The 5-foot-7 senior pitcher produced a 39-4 record and a 0.06 ERA en route to 31 shutouts, 16 no-hitters, seven perfect games this past season, leading the Chargers (39-4) to their third straight Class A state title. The Class A Player of the Year each of the last three seasons, Rush recorded 457 strikeouts in 240 innings and also batted .427 with 14 home runs and 41 RBI. She set a state single-season record for victories and holds the state career records for both wins and ERA.

Rush has maintained a 3.47 GPA in the classroom. She has volunteered locally helping physically handicapped children play baseball.

“Rush was the top pitcher we saw this year,” said Billy Dooley, head coach of Collins Hill High. “She hits her spots and she knows how to pitch—she just doesn’t have many weaknesses.”

Rush has signed a National Letter of Intent to play softball on scholarship at Georgia Tech University this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field. The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Rush joins recent Gatorade Georgia Softball Players of the Year Kelli Wheeler (2007-08, Lassiter), Alicia Mills (2006-07, Sequoyah), and Kylie Reynolds (2005-06, Morgan County) among the state’s list of former award winners.

For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a list of past winners, and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.