2013 MIAC Softball Awards

Posted: May 10, 2013

http://miac-online.org/news/2013/5/9/SB_0509134249.aspx

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced the 2013 MIAC Softball Awards Friday with conference-champion St. Thomas, runner-up Bethel and Saint Benedict laying claim to the top individual honors. All-Conference First Team and Honorable Mention and All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team selections were also recognized.

After surging to a second-place finish in both the regular season and MIAC Playoffs, Bethel was honored with two of the conference's marquee individual awards. Sophomore infielder Angie Jackson (Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul) was named the 2013 MIAC Softball Player-of-the-Year and her coach, Rod Radcliffe (ninth season), was voted the MIAC Softball Coach-of-the-Year by his peers. St. Thomas standout sophomore Kendra Bowe (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) was elected the 2013 MIAC Softball Pitcher-of-the-Year for the second season in a row for her role in the Tommies' regular season and postseason titles. Saint Benedict's Kimberly Lidstone (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) received 2013 MIAC Softball Rookie-of-the-Year honors.

Jackson had a tremendous season for the Royals to result in her MVP award. She flirted with a .500 overall batting average, finishing second in the MIAC with a .479 mark. Her .789 slugging percentage ranked first and .522 on-base percentage was second in the league. She led the league in overall games in hits (68), runs (59), doubles (16), was second in total bases (112), third in home runs (eight), fifth in RBI (39) and triples (two).

She was even better in MIAC play, leading the league with an out-of-this world .571 batting average. She also led the league in on-base percentage (.595), runs (32), hits (40), doubles (nine), total bases (66). Her .943 slugging percentage ranked No. 2 in the MIAC and Jackson was fifth in home runs (five) and RBI (20). Jackson led the Royals to a second-place finish in league play, and a berth in the MIAC Playoff championship game.

Her coach was also honored for his work during Bethel's outstanding season. Radcliffe earned his first-ever MIAC Coach-of-the-Year award in his eighth season on the Royals' bench. Bethel finished 27-15 overall and went 14-6 in the conference in 2013 to finish alone in second place, two games ahead of third-place Hamline. The Royals received the No. 2 seed in the MIAC Playoffs, won their pool and reached the title game, where they lost to St. Thomas.

Radcliffe's team had the second-best team average in the conference (.345) and led the league with 309 total runs and RBI (276) and triples (11). The Royals were also second in earned run average, hits, doubles, home runs, total bases and opponent batting average. In conference play, Bethel led the league in shutouts, doubles and triples. Radcliffe coached four players to All-MIAC honors and another to Honorable Mention accolades.

Bowe's excellence on the mound resulted in the Tommies' league titles, and her second-straight MIAC Pitcher-of-the-Year award to open her career. The sophomore went 17-3 with one save in 30 appearances and 16 starts in 120.2 innings of work, and is still going with UST in NCAA Division III Regional play this weekend. Bowe ranked second in the MIAC in wins (17) and was second with a 1.39 ERA. Opponents had a .203 average against her and she had seven complete games and two shutouts.

The Tommie hurler was even better in conference play, going a perfect 8-0 with a save and a miniscule ERA of 0.99. MIAC opponents hit just .178 against her, and she struck out 43 against just 19 walks in 56.2 innings. Bowe has led UST to a 39-5 overall record thus far in 2013, and they claimed the MIAC regular season with a perfect 20-0 record. She was also a big reason St. Thomas went 4-0 en route to the MIAC Playoff title last weekend in North Mankato, Minn.

Lidstone was honored as the league's top rookie following her breakout season. Her .427 batting average in overall games ranked sixth in the league and she ranked in the top five in runs (39), hits (61), triples (two) and stolen bases (20). She hit .416 in conference play and her 32 hits in MIAC games was the second-best total in the league. Lidstone started her career with an amazing 31-game hitting streak, which is the fourth-longest in Division III since 2004.

As an example of the parity in the conference this season, each school had at least one All-MIAC First Team selection, led by the Tommies and Royals with four selections each. Gustavus and Hamline each had three players honored. Saint Mary's, Saint Benedict and St. Olaf each had two selections, and one player apiece from St. Catherine, Carleton, Macalester, Augsburg and Concordia were honored. The team was also extremely balanced from an age standpoint with seven seniors, seven juniors, seven sophomores and four first-year players selected.

As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC announced the seventh annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for softball. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.

2013 MIAC Softball Awards

Player-of-the-Year - Angie Jackson, Bethel (So., Oakdale, MInn./North St. Paul)

Pitcher-of-the-Year - Kendra Bowe, St. Thomas (So., Chippewa Falls, Wis.)

Rookie-of-the-Year - Kimberly Lidstone, St. Benedict (Fy., Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins)

Coach-of-the-Year - Rod Radcliffe, Bethel (Ninth season)

2013 MIAC All-Conference



Name

Team

Year

Pos.

Hometown/Previous School

Lexi Alm

Saint Benedict

Jr.

OF

Stacy, Minn./Forest Lake

Paige Beseman

Concordia

So.

IF

Little Falls, Minn.

Nat Boissiere

Saint Mary's

Fy.

IF

Plymouth, MInn./Cooper

Kendra Bowe

St. Thomas

So.

P

Chippewa Falls, Wis.

Brittany Brenke

Gustavus

Jr.

OF

Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson

Bri Dorale

Augsburg

Sr.

CF/SS

Ramsey, Minn./Anoka

Rachel Gilbert

Bethel

Sr.

OF

Becker, Minn.

Emily Gregory

St. Thomas

Jr.

C

Prior Lake, Minn.

Kimmy Hassel

St. Thomas

Sr.

2B

Bloomington, Ill./Normal

Bethany Hine

Hamline

Sr.

OF

Carver, Minn./Chaska

Jenna Hoffman

St. Thomas

Jr.

SS

Eagan, Minn./Cretin-Durham Hall

Angie Jackson

Bethel

So.

IF

Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul

Carly Klass

Gustavus

So.

IF

Richfield, Minn.

Kimberly Lidstone

Saint Benedict

Fy.

2B

Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins

Alyssa Luedtke

St. Catherine

Jr.

OF

Spring Lake Park, Minn.

Jess Newstrom

Bethel

Sr.

3B

Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti

Karli Persson

Bethel

Fy.

P

Albany, Minn.

Jenny Ramey

Carleton

Jr.

IF

Cottage Grove, Minn./New Life Academy

Laura Randall

Hamline

Sr.

OF

Fridley, Minn./Spring Lake Park

Alex Raske

Saint Mary's

So.

C/OF

Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley

Sarah Rozell

Gustavus

So.

P

Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North

Miranda Stokes

Macalester

So.

P/OF

Perry, Utah/Box Elder

Brianna Vela

Hamline

Jr.

P

Kenosha, Wis./Bradford

Becca Walz

St. Olaf

Fy.

IF

Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove

Mackenzie Wolter

St. Olaf

Sr.

IF

Norwood, Minn./Central

2013 MIAC Honorable Mention All-Conference



Name

Team

Year

Position

Hometown/Previous School

Brianna Bannon

St. Thomas

So.

P

Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert

Stephanie Borndale

Hamline

Fy.

IF

North St. Paul, Minn.

Paige Carter

Saint Mary's

Sr.

OF

Rosemount, Minn.

Danielle Collines

St. Olaf

So.

P

Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard South

Keelin Davis

Carleton

Fy.

P

Woodinville, Wash.

Emily Engelmeier

Saint Benedict

Fy.

P

South St. Paul, Minn.

Julie Fergus

St. Olaf

Sr.

OF

Silverdale, Wash./Central Kitsap

Lindsey Helbach

Augsburg

SO.

P/OF

Amherst, Wis.

Lindsey Klein

St. Catherine

Fy.

P/IF

Shoreview, Minn./Hill Murray

Megan Matson

Bethel

Sr.

OF

Mound. Minn./Orono

Cleo Nagy

Macalester

Jr.

OF/UT

Eugene, Ore./Henry D. Sheldon

Rachel Nelson

Saint Benedict

Jr.

P

Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes

Hailey Ohl

Saint Mary's

Sr.

IF

Bloomington, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy

Kelsey Parsons

Carleton

Sr.

IF

Golden Valley, Minn./Hopkins

Amy Prok

St. Olaf

Sr.

P

Delano, Minn.

Anna Ramboldt

Saint Mary's

Sr.

IF

Goodhue, Minn.

Kate Rentschler

Gustavus

Sr.

UT

Lakefield, Minn./Jackson County Central

Jamie Rubbelke

Hamline

Fy.

IF

North St. Paul, Minn.

Allyson Ruedy

Augsburg

Sr.

SS

Waseca, Minn.

Kaia Sele

Concordia

Sr.

1B

Bemidji, Minn.

McKenzie Wergin

St. Thomas

So.

SS

Longmont, Colo./Silver Creek

Jessica Wilson

St. Olaf

Sr.

OF

Savage, Minn./Burnsville

Saraswati Wilson

Macalester

So.

SS/OF

Olathe, Kan./Olathe Northwest

2013 All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team
Augsburg - Allyson Ruedy (Sr., Waseca, Minn.)
Bethel - Megan Matson (Sr., Mound, Minn./Orono)
Carleton - Chelsea Yost (Sr., Bemidji, Minn.)
Concordia - Krista Bjork (So., Brainerd, Minn.)
Gustavus - Bethany Flohrs (Jr., Ornsby, Minn./Martin Luther)
Hamline - Katie Koren (So., Oakdale, Minn./Tartan)
Macalester - Courtney Nussbaumer (Sr., Brookfield, Wis./East)
Saint Benedict -Mackenzie Wenner (So., St. Peter, Minn.)
St. Catherine - Caity DeWitt (Fy., Stillwater, Minn./Mahtomedi)
Saint Mary's - Kristen Thelen (Jr., Rochester, Minn./Rochester John Marshall)
St. Olaf - Amy Prok (Sr., Delano, Minn.)
St. Thomas - Heidi Schreiner (Sr., Appleton, Wis./East)