Crown duo headlines 2017 UMAC softball awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The 2017 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) softball season saw the College of St. Scholastica claim its ninth-straight regular season conference title with a solid 14-2 UMAC record, while Crown College surprised the conference jumping from fourth to second in the standings with a 12-4 conference mark. Following that success for both teams, the Saints led the UMAC softball awards with the most all-conference selections while Crown took two of the top three individual honors announced Monday.
Crown Head Coach Jamie Ross was selcted by his peers as the UMAC Coach of the Year, while the Storm's Lis King took the Player of the Year honor. St. Scholastica's Toni Bishop was recognized as the UMAC Rookie of the Year and was one of six Saints to earn ALL-UMAC First Team or Honorable Mention honors.
The Storm earned its third-straight UMAC postseason berth under Ross this season finishing second and earning the No. 2 seed thanks to a sweep of the University of Northwestern and a split with St. Scholastica on the final day of the regular season. FInishing second in the standings is the highest in program history and best-ever in any Crown "team" sport.
This season, the Storm held opponents to one run or none in seven conference games and outscored opponents by 50 runs. They were second in UMAC hits (146) and RBI (80) and ranked third in slugging (.422) as a team. The Storm topped the league in most putouts (338) and boasted the third-best team earned run average (1.80).
The Storm's impressive season wouldn't have been possible without the dominance of King both at the plate and on the mound. The sophomore had a breakout conference season earning two UMAC Player of the Week and one Pitcher of the Week honor. King was always a threat at the plate in league games boasting a league best 1.000 slugging percentage, 22 RBI and eight home runs. She ranked second in walks (9), third in hits (24), fifth in on-base (.532) and seventh in average (.453). King also recorded 11 multi-hit performances, three two-run home run games and four games with three or more RBI.
King was just as much of a threat on the mound and served as the Storm's workhorse all season. In UMAC games, she pitched a conference most 98.2 innings and score a UMAC-best 11 wins – the only player with double-digit conference wins. King collected a 1.63 ERA and threw 41 strikeouts. She held opponents to a .236 average and was among the top four pitchers in multiple categories.
The UMAC champion Saints added to their depth this season with the addition of Bishop who easily found her place as one of the top players in the UMAC. The rookie catcher split time behind the plate and tallied 72 putouts at the position. She also was a solid contributor at the plate with a league-leading 10 walks in conference games. She was 12th in batting average (.439) and third in on-base percentage (.547). Bishop also compiled 18 hits, 13 runs and nine RBI.
Joining Bishop were five other Saints who earned recognition with four placed on the All-UMAC First-Team – the most among all programs. Senior Chrisi Mizera – the 2015 UMAC Player of the Year – is the lone player to make four-straight appearances on the All-UMAC First-Team list. She was also the Rookie of the Year in 2014. Crystal Diaz of Northland College and Anna Pipenhagen of Bethany Lutheran College earned their third-consecutive All-UMAC First Team honors.
Ciarra Taipale of the University of Wisconsin-Superior and Janelle Williams of Crown were both back-to-back First Team picks, while Alexa Bremer of the Saints was a First Team honoree following two-consecutive Honorable Mention selections. Amanda Roth of North Central University also earned her second First Team honor of her career after miising all of last season due to injury. Katie White of Wisconsin-Superior was All-UMAC after Honorable Mention last year.
Meghan Pomeroy of the University of Minnesota Morris earned the third All-UMAC honor of her career with her second-straight Honorable Mention. Gina Downie of the Cougars earned her second-career Honorable Mention, while Colleen Feldheim of Northwestern was Honorable Mention after earning First Team in 2016.
The UMAC coaches also recognized 10 players with positions on the UMAC All-Defensive Team. Five players have previously earned All-Defensive honors in their careers including Olivia Bretting (St. Scholastica), Feldheim (Northwestern), Kaylee Forcier (Northwestern), Autumn Mahoney (Minnesota Morris) and Pipenhagen (Bethany Lutheran).
Each year the UMAC recognizes the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represented sportsmanship throughout the entire season. Northwestern earned the honor for the second-consecutive season. Each team also had one representative on the individual sportsmanship award list.
Player of the Year Award* – Lis King, So., Crown
Rookie of the Year Award# – Toni Bishop, Fy., St. Scholastica
Coach of the Year Award – Jamie Ross, Crown
First-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Hannah Borgeson |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Utility |
Woodville, Minn./Baldwin-Woodville |
| Alexa Bremer |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Short Stop |
Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake |
| Olivia Bretting |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Outfield |
Ashland, Wis./Ashland |
| Crystal Diaz |
Sr. |
Northland |
Pitcher |
Burbank, Calif./Burbank |
| Kaylee Forcier |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Outfield |
Watkins, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins |
| Mindy Forcier |
So. |
Northwestern |
Outfield |
Watkins, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins |
| Erin Gilligan |
Sr. |
Northland |
Outfield |
Oconto Falls, Wis./Oconto Falls |
| Lis King* |
So. |
Crown |
Pitcher |
Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo |
| Chrisi Mizera |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Pitcher |
Frankfurt, Ill./Lincoln-Way East |
| Saige Patrick |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Outfield |
Steinbach, Manitoba/St. Mary's Academy |
| Anna Pipenhagen |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Pitcher |
Elk River, Minn./Elk River |
| Amanda Roth |
Jr. |
North Central |
Utility |
Appleton, Wis./Neenah |
| Lauren Silbernick |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Pitcher |
Osakis, Minn./Osakis |
| Ciarra Taipale |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Outfield |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth Denfeld |
| Janelle Williams |
Sr. |
Crown |
Third Base |
Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji |
UMAC All-Conference Honorable Mention
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Toni Bishop# |
Fy. |
St. Scholastica |
Catcher |
Roseville, Minn./Roseville |
| Kelli Doell |
Sr. |
Martin Luther |
Pitcher |
Appleton, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran |
| Gina Downie |
Sr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Outfield |
White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake |
| Colleen Feldheim |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Second Base |
Northfield, Ill./Loyola Academy |
| Megan Pehrson |
Fy. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Pitcher |
Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids |
| Meghan Pomeroy |
Sr. |
Minnesota Morris |
First Base |
Arden Hills, Minn./Mound View |
| Kayla Rosenbaum |
So. |
Martin Luther |
Third Base |
St. Joseph, Mich./Michigan Lutheran |
| Cindi Rydlund |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Outfield |
Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial |
| Moriah Sawyer |
Sr. |
Crown |
First Base |
Mosinee, Wis./Wisconsin Valley Lutheran |
| Katie White |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
First Base |
Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes |
| Christina Wickingson |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Short Stop |
Mason, Wis./Drummond |
UMAC All-Defensive Team
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Anna Pipenhagen |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Pitcher |
Elk River, Minn./Elk River |
| Gabby Gidley |
So. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Catcher |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Katie White |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
First Base |
Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes |
| Colleen Feldheim |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Second Base |
Northfield, Ill./Loyola Academy |
| Ann Lokke |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Third Base |
St. Francis, Minn./St. Francis |
| Alexa Bremer |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Short Stop |
Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake |
| Olivia Bretting |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Outfield |
Ashland, Wis./Ashland |
| Kaylee Forcier |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Outfield |
Watkins, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins |
| Mindy Forcier |
So. |
Northwestern |
Outfield |
Watkins, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins |
| Autumn Mahoney |
Jr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Utility |
Frazee, Minn./Frazee |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Northwestern
Bethany Lutheran – Magen Meyer, Jr., Spring Valley, Minn./Hope Lutheran
Crown – Moriah Sawyer, Sr., Mosinee, Wis./Wisconsin Valley Lutheran
Martin Luther – Kelli Doell, Sr., Appleton, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran
Minnesota Morris – Marissa Kroells, Sr., Arlington, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran
North Central – Danelle Pageler, Jr., Warren, Minn./Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
Northland – Erin Gilligan, Sr., Oconto Falls, Wis./Oconto Falls
Northwestern – Abbie Nelson, Fy., Holdrege, Neb./Holdrege
St. Scholastica – Hannah Borgeson, Jr., Woodville, Minn./Baldwin-Woodville
Wisconsin-Superior – Shelby Gerken, Sr., Baraboo, Wis./Baraboo