"Kim Tully was one of the players to play for the Lady Pirates."

At the annual sports banquet held Thursday, May 15, at the Miller County High School Cafeteria, Coach Prescott and Coach Israel presented a special gift and awarded a new scholarship in honor of the late Kim Tully.

Her parents were called to the stage by the coaches, and Craig and Cindy were presented with Kim's #6 jersey. That number will never be used again in girls' softball at MCHS. Coach Prescott stated, "Kim Tully was one of the best players to ever play softball for the Lady Pirates. She was one of those very unique players known as a '5 Tool Player.' A '5 Tool Player' is one who can (1) Hit for average, (2) Hit for power, (3) Play defense, (4) Throw (has a great arm), and (5) Can run (speed). Kim could do all of these things well, which made her such a good ball player.

"Kim had all the 'tools' to play the game, but what put her a cut above others who also have these 'tools' was that Kim was also a student of the game. Kim didn't want to just know how to do something; she wanted to know why you did it that way. Kim realized early in her playing career that if you understand why you did something it would make learning the how a lot easier.

"Like I say, Kim was a student of the game. All players are going to make mistakes on the field. They all will make physical errors, miss a ground ball, drop a pop-up, etc. and practically all will make what coaches call 'Bone-Head' plays. Kim made occasional errors like everyone, just not near as many as others. But for as long as I coached Kim, I do not remember her ever, and I mean ever making a 'bone-head' play. She knew how the game was supposed to be played, and she played it wonderfully. Kim was fortunate enough to play with a great group of girls in her same grade. There were eight girls who were starters, including Kim, who were in the same grade as Kim. Four of these were starters as freshmen, including Kim. Kim's first two years, she played in the outfield,and the last two she played shortstop, where she really shined. This group of young ladies over their four year period of eligibility fashioned an unbelievable won-loss record of 92 wins and only 16 losses. Truly outstanding. This group of young ladies, 1997-2000, were all stars, and Kim was the star in a group of stars. This is why I am so honored to be able to officially retire her game jersey and number 6," said Coach Prescott.

Kim not only stood out at MCHS; she also was a standout on a traveling tournament

team, known as the "Suns." This was one of the best 16 and under softball teams in the nation. Kim and the Suns won the national championship in 1997. They played and beat teams from all over the country in the "Nationals" tournament and thus became the "National Champions," not bad for a little girl from Colquitt, Georgia.

"Thanks, Kim for allowing me to be your coach. It was truly a privilege and honor," said the coach as her family members received a standing ovation.

The scholarship established in her honor went to Erkia Rigsby.