March 19, 2024

Local talent fills HOIC all-conference teams

Area softball teams were well represented on this year’s Heart of Iowa all-conference teams.

Colfax-Mingo, Collins-Maxwell/Baxter and Prairie City-Monroe all had several players receive honors from the conference’s coaches for their efforts throughout the season.

PCM, which won the Heart of Iowa with a 16-2 record, tied Greene County with a conference-high five selections to the first or second all-conference squads.

Among those was catcher Abigail Gilson, who was one of two unanimous selections to the Heart of Iowa all-conference first team; Saydel’s Liz Miklus was the other unanimous pick. Gilson finished her senior season with a .400 batting average and posted a league-high 41 RBI. She played an instrumental role in PCM’s first two playoff victories, hitting a home run in both games.

Junior pitcher Racheal Freland and freshman third baseman Jayci Vos were also named to the first team for the Mustangs. Freland finished with a 13-3 record and led the conference in earned run average (1.18) and opponents’ batting average (.116). Vos’ 34 runs scored tied for the most in the league and her 21 stolen bases were the second most in the Heart of Iowa.

Freshman pitcher Kayla Jennings and senior Jennafer Uitermarkt were named to the second team. Jennings completed the season with a 7-5 record in the circle and limited opponents to a .197 batting average, the third lowest mark in the conference. Uitermarkt batted .364 with 28 hits for the Mustangs.

Receiving honorable mention honors for PCM were Makenna Van Veen and Katie VandeWall. Van Veen, a junior, batted .289 while VandeWall scored 32 runs, the second highest total in the conference.

Colfax-Mingo's Amy Russell was selected to the first team as a utility player. Russell did it all for the Tigerhawks, pitching roughly three-fourths of her team's innings and leading her team at the plate.

Russell was near the top of the conference in several offensive categories, including average (.424, second), doubles (16, first), home runs (five, tied for fourth), walks (20, first), on-base percentage (.535, second) and slugging percentage (.761, second). In the circle, the freshman posted a record of 13-9, the second lowest earned run average (1.21) and second most strikeouts (141).

Colfax-Mingo seniors Jena Teed and Jade Lewis were given honorable mention by the coaches. Teed was fourth on the team with 12 RBI while Lewis played in 30 of the team’s 31 games.

A solid offensive season from Collins-Maxwell/Baxter's Abbie Haupert landed her on the Heart of Iowa all-conference first team. Haupert provided a productive bat throughout CMB's 15-15 season. The senior batted .374, the sixth-highest mark in the HOIC, and totalled team highs in hits (37) and doubles (nine).

Receiving honorable mention status for CMB were junior Mackenzie Schmitz and freshman Megan Ritter. Schmitz (.317) and Ritter (.304) posted the second and third highest batting averages for the Raiders.