Several area athletes recognized with Missouri Hall of Fame Diamond 9 awards

Jun. 4—The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame also announced the Diamond 9 Awards presented by BJS Trophy Shop. The awards recognize former high school, college and pro standouts who made positive contributions to either baseball or softball.

Those with ties to area schools include:

Payton Appleberry Brown

At Republic High School, Brown was a three-time All-State selection from 2009 to 2011 before graduating in 2012. She helped the Lady Tigers to two Final Four appearances. As the team's leadoff batter, she set single-season school records for stolen bases, runs scored and batting average (.594). She later played two years at Crowder College, starting both seasons, including in 2014 when Brown helped the team to a regional runner-up finish. That year, she also earned a NJCAA Regional All-Star team selection. Brown previously played travel ball for the Southwest Missouri Twisters, Missouri Lightning and Midwest Nationals. She works for James River Church.

Jordan Payne

A 2002 graduate of Bolivar High School, Payne was a three-sport standout, playing football, basketball and baseball. In baseball, he earned All-Central Ozark Conference as a shortstop and catcher. He also was a First Team All-State selection as a defensive back in football, and was All-COC as a quarterback, defensive back and punter.

He played two seasons at Crowder, where as a freshman he tied the school's home run record (16), good for eighth nationally among freshmen, and had 54 RBIs, good for 28th in the nation. He also was a First Team All-Region 16 shortstop and was inducted into the Crowder Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.

At SEMO, he set the school record with a 6-for-6 single-game performance and earned Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week as a senior, batting .412, with a 1.059 slugging percentage thanks to three home runs, two doubles, seven RBI and seven runs scored. He also played two seasons for the semipro Cape Girardeau Capahas (MSHOF 2016). He is vice president at Mid-Missouri Bank in El Dorado Springs.

Anessa Alexander Roller

She was a freshman on Strafford's 2005 state championship team and later earned First Team All-State honors in Class 2 in 2008 as a junior. While at Strafford, Roller won a state championship in the triple jump at the 2008 MSHSAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and was a state runner-up in the high jump a year later. She later went on to play at Crowder College, where in two seasons she had 57 hits, including 11 doubles, 27 RBIs and 45 runs scored. Roller now works for First State Bank of Purdy in Monett.