ITG Next is pleased to announce that Lowndes High School senior softball player Madison Van Allen is the ITG Next Georgia Female Athlete of the Month for October 2022, presented by Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance. Van Allen was one of four outstanding Georgia high school student-athletes who were selected as nominees based on their performances in September, and Van Allen received the majority of all votes submitted.
Along with Van Allen, the other nominees were Carver-Columbus senior softball IF/OF Kailyn Floyd, Whitewater senior softball pitcher Makayla Coffield, and North Paulding senior OF Sanaa Thompson. ITG Next is proud to salute all of our nominees for their outstanding performances in September.
Van Allen not only performed well in September, but according to Lowndes softball coach Stewart Thomas, she has been a main component on the Lowndes fastpitch squad all season.
“She is having a heckuva year,” Thomas said. “The girl can play.”
Van Allen was nominated and ultimately voted as the Athlete of the Month for her September output, which included a .530 batting average, 10 home runs and 36 RBI. In the circle, Van Allen was one of the most effective pitchers in September with 51 strikeouts and a 1.70 ERA in 48.1 IP.
In October she added to her already impressive stat line as the Vikettes completed their regular season. Van Allen helped lead her Lowndes team to an 18-7-1 record, good for the No. 2 seed in region 1-6A. She finished the regular season with a 9-3 win-loss record and a 1.76 ERA. She allowed just 37 hits in 56 IP, and had 61 Ks with a 1.09 WHIP. At the plate, she posted a .506 batting average and .538 OBP. In 93 plate appearances and 87 official AB, she had 44 hits, 13 doubles 1 triple and 11 HR with 44 RBI. She scored 29 runs and struck out just twice all season.
Coach Thomas said he knew early on during her middle school days that his now-standout senior was going to be a really good player.
“Madison has been a vital part of our program for four years now, but I knew she would be a special player when she first entered our program in the sixth grade,” Thomas said. “Her competitiveness and passion for the game is what I first noticed about Madison. She loved Lowndes and couldn’t wait to be a Vikette.”
Now, the coach reflects on what having a player like Van Allen has meant to the program.
“Here we are seven years later and her era at Lowndes is coming to an end, with a bright future in store for her at the College of Central Florida,” Thomas said.
Lowndes athletic director Danny Redshaw, who knows a good player on the baseball or softball diamond when he sees one, added, “Madison is a competitor and a leader and loves to play the game.”
Van Allen’s mother is Angelia Quiggins Van Allen. Her father, Robby Van Allen, told ITG Next that softball wasn’t his daughter’s first sport growing up.
“Madison actually played basketball until she was 8 years old,” he said.
Robby added that she was pretty good at it, too. But then she turned to her current sport.
“She was scoring 28 points per game, but started playing softball when she was 9 years old and never picked up a basketball again,” he said. “She has worked hard to be the player she is now.”
The Lowndes softball team now heads to the GHSA Super Regionals, where they’ll take on Parkview in Lilburn.
Congratulations to Madison Van Allen, our ITG Next Georgia Female Athlete of the Month for October 2022, presented by Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance.
