Darnley Receives Gamer of the Year Honors
Teays Physical Therapy Center, Inc. and The Putnam Herald are pleased to present this year’s Female Gamer of the Year to Abby Darnley of the Buffalo high school softball and basketball team.
Buffalo High School athlete Abby Darnley has been a standout on the softball field and on the basketball court which has earned her the Gamer of the Year award. The award recognizes not only athletic accomplishment, but also academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.
Four-year starter for the Buffalo High School softball team, she established herself as one of the top hitting catchers in the state. She was runner up for Freshman of the Year. She has been a three-time First Team All-State player, one-time All-State Captain, and three-time All-Kanawha Valley First Team player. Her career batting average is .568 with 25 home runs, 102 RBIs, and 69 stolen bases. “She is the best pure hitter I have seen and an extremely good defensive catcher with an excellent arm,” said Coach Rasnake, “As good a player Abby has been for us, it's her character that sticks out. Always listening and learning and so coachable it has been a pleasure coaching her over the past 4 years.”
Darnley has been a member of the Buffalo High School basketball team since freshman year. She has proven to be an offensive force. She finished her career with over 1,000 points, averaging 17 points, and averaging 6 rebounds. She led the team to their victory over rival Ravenswood which earned them a spot at the state tournament. This was the team’s first appearance in over 30 years. She earned Second Team All-State and Second Team All-Kanawha this past season. “Abby is the hardest worker of any athlete I have ever coached,” said Coach Mike Kelly.
“I have been successful because my coaches have really cared about how I’m doing and have helped me in every aspect. I also have loved all my teammates on both teams and that really helped me to be surrounded by such great people. I’ll miss the people…many of them have been around since middle school, so I’m going to really miss them when I go,” said Abby Darnley.
Outside of sports, Abby is a 4.0 student and a member of the National Honor Society. She is also a member of the Beverly Bandits travel softball team. She is committed to playing softball at Marshall University. She is looking forward to meeting her teammates and is excited about the chance to play D1 softball.