Straughn High School rising senior Stephanie Bracewell has been selected to play on the South team at the 2009 North-South All-Star softball tournament on Wed., July 15 in Huntsville.

In May, Bracewell helped lead her team to a second place finish at the Class 3A state tournament in Montgomery.

Her team finished in second place two years in a row.

The softball tournament will be played at the Metro Kiwanis Sportsplex at 6 p.m.

Bracewell said being able to play on the team is a big “accomplishment.”

“It’s awesome,” she said. “It’s a big accomplishment and I’ve worked hard. I just think it’s worth it to be selected on the team.”

Bracewell said at the state tournament the team had to pull together after the first two games to get ready for the final day of the tournament.

“So, we had our talk and pulled it together for Saturday morning and we knew that we had to come back and win them all,” she said. “We just battled throughout it all and worked hard as a team.”

Bracewell added it was hard to finish the way her team did a second time.

“It was a heartbreak. You go so far and then you work through all those games and you come out second,” Bracewell said. “It’s a really big accomplishment because there are not a lot of teams that can say they finished second two years in a row at state.

“It’s an accomplishment for us and it’s a step towards (the championship) every year.”

At the North-South tournament, Bracewell will remain at the catcher position, where she said she improved over the last season.

“Well, I think my bat has pulled through a lot since the start of the season and my catching helped me a lot,” she said. “I even had a college scout say since he last saw me that my catching had improved really well.”

Bracewell said even though the summer has just started, she is looking forward to her senior year at Straughn.

“I would like to say we really have gone through a lot,” Bracewell said. “We’ve had our struggles, but I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for them.”

Bracewell is the daughter of Alan and Judy Bracewell of Andalusia.