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By Ray Hamill — Humboldt County’s Lovie Lewis is determined to follow in the footsteps of her favorite player.

The 12-year-old, who attends Trinity Valley Elementary School in Willow Creek, will head to Huntington Beach this coming week to compete in the Premier Girls Fastpitch Softball Nationals tournament with the Corona Angels as she continues to make a name for herself in the sport.

Lewis has quickly established herself as one of the best young softball players in the county after leading the Hoopa Huskies to a Redwood Fastpitch championship at the 17U level this year.

And eventually, she says she would like to follow in the footsteps of her favorite player, pitcher Najaree Canady, and play for Texas Tech or perhaps Oklahoma.

But for now, she’s focused on continuing to develop her game and looking forward to the opportunity to compete at the prestigious PGF Nationals, which get under way this week.

“I’m pretty excited,” she said. “I think it’s a good opportunity to see new teams and be able to perform in front of scouts.”

Lewis has been performing at a high level for the past couple of years.

She first began playing softball at aged 8 and quickly took to the sport, both in the circle and at the plate.

She has competed with several travel teams while honing her skills over the past few years, including the Mad River MIST, the Chico Stars, Aces Academy and the Firecrackers out of Sacramento.

This past spring, while playing for the Firecrackers, she led her teammates with 18 doubles and earned the nickname the “Doubles Queen.”

This summer she was recruited by the Corona Angels to play at the prestigious national tournament, which attracts teams and players from all across the nation.

But getting there has been a challenge in more ways than one, and Lewis can be seen fundraising around her community, selling lemonade, nachos and snow cones as part of her own business, “Snacky Lews.”

She even has a business license.

Lovie Lewis with Olympian Michele Granger

“She uses the money she earns to pay for her travel,” her mother Aninda Lewis said, with each tournament costing around $1000 to compete in.

The young Lewis also competes for Trinity Valley Elementary in volleyball and basketball and has thrived in both of those sports as well, but she says softball is her favorite.

The young standout also has received plenty of support from the local community, with several people purchasing her “I got Your Back” t-shirts or hoodies as part of her fundraising this summer.

“We would also like to thank Bear River Casino, the Bear River Tribal Council, the Hoopa Valley Tribe and Kimaw Medical Center for their generous sponsorship and support,” Aninda Lewis said. “A special thank you as well to everyone who participated in Lovie’s ‘I got Your Back’ fundraiser, and to everyone who has stopped by Snacky Lew’s to grab a lemonade, nachos, snow cone, or simply show their support.

“Every purchase, donation, share and word of encouragement has helped make this journey possible.

“The community’s been really supportive. She couldn’t make it to this tournament without the support of the community.”

And for Lovie, two people in particular have helped her on her journey.

“I’d like to thank my dad (Bronson Lewis Sr.) for driving me everywhere I need to go and my mom for helping me get started and helping me to accomplish everything I have,” she said.

Lovie Lewis with Huskies coaches Trinie and Cecil Inong.