Lunenburg Girls Softball pitcher Ellie Richmond recently received a rare honor recognizing her for her character and hard work while also helping her out in her college career.

The 2016 Central High School graduate was one of eight Dixie Softball players this year to be honored with a scholarship. She won the R.T. Adams Memorial Scholarship from Dixie Softball that is worth $1,500.

“It means a lot because there are probably hundreds of girls that could have applied for that scholarship,” Richmond said. “Any girl (who) plays Dixie and is a senior in high school can apply for it, and I honestly didn’t expect to get it because the odds were so high of me not getting it, but I’m really glad that I did.”

Lunenburg Girls Softball (LGS) Commissioner Tony Matthews was excited about Richmond winning the scholarship.

“It was a big surprise to us,” he said. “She’s only the second girl from Lunenburg who has actually been selected for one of the Dixie scholarships, so we were very pleased, and I was very proud of her.”

The only previous LGS participant to receive a scholarship from Dixie Softball was Ashley Rose in 2012.

Matthews noted that throughout its organization, Dixie Youth presents 16 scholarships each year, eight for baseball and eight for softball.

Deciding on the Dixie Softball scholarship winners is a national board, he said, made up of one representative and their assistant from each state that Dixie Softball is involved in, along with the president and national commissioner for each age group.

Matthews said the qualifications for being a scholarship recipient include having participated in Dixie softball and having written an essay “on how Dixie softball, or softball in general, has impacted your life. … She has to have been civic-minded, volunteering hours and so on and so forth, and so all those things come into play. And then of course, there’s a letter that has to be written by me, and then there is also a volunteer (component) for Dixie organization, such as coaching or helping at a ballfield or something like that.”

Of Richmond, Matthews said, “She’s very large in her church. She is extremely helpful at every tournament we’ve had as far as volunteering and helping out with things. She’s a very dedicated worker towards her softball career. So, she’s got a great work ethic, and she gives 110 percent when she’s trying to perfect anything.”

Richmond is also a good student, carrying a 3.75 grade point average.

The money from the scholarship will help her during her time at Southside Virginia Community College. She plans on going to the University of Virginia in a few years and eventually working as a nurse.