BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — As the potter’s wheel turns, fine finger movements and an attention to detail shapes lumps of moist clay into pieces of art that demand attention and reward the sculptor’s patience.
Inside the circle, those same qualities determine whether the door is slammed in a frustrated batter’s face or if she manages to slap a crucial hit into an outfield gap.
Fortunately for Lily Brewer, an admitted potter and Auburn High School’s star junior pitcher, she has those qualities in spades.
Brewer, being named The Observer’s Pitcher of the Year marked the end of a whirlwind school year during which she committed to Ohio State University in November 2025 and never looked back.
“I think it’s really a great thing,” said Brewer. “When I committed, it was a great time, especially when I went up to Ohio State. I just have a bunch of people [who] want to be around me and want to support me, especially through school ball, awards and stuff like that. Getting recognized, it’s great, especially by people I love and enjoy being around.”
This year, the righty amassed a 13-10 record and six saves while tossing 155 innings — 30 ⅔ more than the closest qualified pitcher — giving up 118 hits, allowing 31 earned runs, walking 39, striking out 201 and posting a 1.40 ERA and 1.01 WHIP.
In the batter’s box, she also tallied 38 hits for a .325 average, one home run, 22 runs, 19 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.
Born in California and raised on the dry, hot flats near Stillwater, Oklahoma, softball was not one of Brewer’s initial passions.
After deciding soccer and basketball weren’t for her due to a lack of personal space, she remained bored in both the outfield and the infield while waiting for action that rarely came her way.
Then one day, she had an epiphany: the pitcher always touches the ball.
When Brewer expressed her interest in pitching, her mother gave her an ultimatum: no crying, no complaining and to work hard as long as she played.
For a while, however, Brewer still didn’t fully love playing and half-wanted to quit, but was too afraid to vocalize her desires.
The turning point came around age 12, when the right coaches and teammates made something click.
“I felt something inside of me,” Brewer said. “I also just loved watching the [Oklahoma State softball players] and would always think, ‘Oh my gosh, one day that could be me, I want to do that.’ They looked like they were having so much fun, and they were so good, so I wanted that to be me.”
After Brewer’s family moved to Auburn when her mother took a job with Auburn University’s College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment and School of Fisheries, Brewer started becoming the player she is today.
In four years, she went from being a young seventh-grader to arguably the Lady Tigers’ ace toward the end of her sophomore season.
Her personality also became renowned in the dugout, with her “fun drinks” — Alanis or Starbucks drinks — and pre-bullpen “turf time” with senior catcher E.K. Penton, her batterymate and confidant since seventh grade, attracting the most attention.
While he and his staff have worked to cut Brewer’s pregame caffeine consumption, AHS head softball coach Matt Hendricks said what sets Brewer apart is her ability to hone her craft independently.
Whether it’s pitching on her own or working with Tincher Pitching Atlanta coach Angie Buckem, she has always found ways to improve herself.
“You’re normally finding ways to challenge your kids, but I have to find a way to throttle her back,” said Hendricks. “I have to limit how much I ask her to do because I don’t want to add volume to what she’s already doing on her own. I just ask her, ‘What do you need to work on today?’ She understands what she’s doing probably as well or better than any kid I’ve ever coached.”
A year from now, Brewer will decide whether to pursue a degree in physical or occupational therapy, marketing or industrial design.
Until then, she’ll keep throwing until she consistently sends the ball screaming past batters at 67 miles per hour or faster and delivers AHS’s first-ever softball state championship.
“I want to be the best and outwork people,” she said. “I really want to focus on, especially as a team in general, being able to get so far ahead that the other team is not going to be able to have a chance to say, ‘Oh, we can come back.’”
