Rochester, Mn-
Despite a cold and snowy start to the 2018 Minnesota College Athletic Conference fastpitch softball season, teams persevered through several modified schedules to compete for the right to advance to the 2018 NJCAA Region XIIIA and Region XIIIB tournaments held May 10-12 at St. Cloud Technical & Community College and Central Lakes College, respectively.
The top performers within the MCAC 2018 softball season have been recognized by earning All-Division status for their exploits on the diamond over the past several weeks. The 2018 Minnesota College Athletic Conference Softball NORTHERN ALL-DIVISION honors are as follows:
2018 NORTHERN DIVISION
FIRST TEAM
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Talyn McClaflin Infielder Itasca Community College |
The freshman infielder from Big Lake, Minnesota emerged as one of the top hitters in all of NJCAA softball who finished the 2018 regular season with a league-best .669 batting average, 11 home runs and 71 RBI's. McClaflin earned NJCAA National Player-of-the-Week honors in early May for the Vikings. |
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Kayla Christopherson Infielder Itasca Community College |
Kalya Christopherson was second overall in the MCAC in batting average (.573) for the 2018 season and was tops in runs scored (58). The sophomore from Zimmerman, Minnesota belted five home runs and three triples this spring. Her on-base percentage of .648 was third in the Conference. |
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Lisa Kossan Infield Central Lakes College |
Central Lakes College rolled through the MCAC Northern Division to an perfect 8-0 record, and Lisa Kossan was a major factor in their success. The freshman from Staples, Minnesota hit for a .556 average, collected 84 total bases cracked 16 doubles over the course of the regular season. Kossan helped lead the Raiders to the top seed and hosting rights to the NJCAA Region XIIIB tournament. |
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Andrea Wagoner Pitcher Central Lakes College |
Whether pitching or batting, Andrea Wagoner was one of the best in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference in 2018. As a pitcher, Wagoner led the MCAC with a 2.55 earned run average and held opposing batters to a .257 batting average. On offense, Wagoner was second in the Conference in RBI's with 64, and led the league in home runs with 17. Wagoner is a sophomore from Colona, Illinois. |
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Teizha Kaluna Infield / Pitcher Northland Community & Technical College |
Northland Community & Technical College freshman Teizha Kaluna may be from Haiwai, but she was right at home in both the batter's box and the pitching circle for the Pioneers. At the plate, Kaluna hit for a .551 average and led the MCAC in on-base percentage at .703. She only struck-out six times the entire spring and hit four home runs. As a pitcher, Kaluna pitched 58.1 innings, including a key late-season complete game performance in a 17-5 win over Hibbing Community College which locked up a playoff berth for NCTC. |
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Anna Peters Pitcher Itasca Community College |
Anna Peters pitched 108 total innings for Itasca Community College and racked up 10 wins and a pair of saves for the Vikings. The freshman from Big Lake, Minnesota had a 3.82 ERA and struck out 147 opposition batters in 22 total appearances. No slouch at the plate herself, Peters had a .388 batting average, knocked in 22 RBIs and belted a home run. |
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Emily Anderson Shortstop / Pitcher Northland Community & Technical College |
Emily Anderson, a sophomore from Middle River, Minnesota who plays at Northland CTC, finished the regular season with a .415 batting average and accounted for 19 Pioneer runs scored. Anderson tallied 3 victories for Northland as a pitcher in 2018, lining up as a shortstop as well. |
Katelyn Waytashek
Outfield / Infield
Central Lakes College
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Versatile Raider, Katelyn Waytashek had a huge turnaround season in 2018, one in which she hit for a .370 average, belted nine home runs and two triples while driving in 35 runs. CLC's success was driven by her ability to play multiple roles and add offense at the plate. |
Kaye Smude
Catcher
Central Lakes College
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Kaye Smude, a sophomore catcher at Central Lakes College, hit .395 during the regular season with six home runs. She led the Raiders in RBIs with 45 and was an instrumental leader behind the plate for the undefeated CLC squad throughout Northern Divison play.
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Alex Saxhaug Infield Mesabi Range College |
Alex Saxhaug, a leader for Mesabi Range College softball this season, hit for a .463 average and collected a .516 on-base percentage for the Norse. With runners in scoring position the freshman from Virginia was even more effective, hitting .522 in those clutch situations. Saxhaug lined up at both first and second base throughout the year for Mesabi Range. |
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Alli Sandberg Outfield / Pitcher Mesabi Range College |
Mesabi Range freshman Alli Sandberg offered her squad a balanced season in 2018, hitting at a .449 clip, 14 runs batted in and 12 runs scored herself. As a pitcher, the Cook, Minnesota product racked up 34 strikeouts along the way. |
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Kayla Larson Pitcher / Outfield Central Lakes College |
Kayla Larson, a sophomore pitcher and outfielder for Central Lakes, collected a 6-2 record as a pitcher with 60 strikeouts in 53 innings. Her ERA of 3.17 was good for third overall in the MCAC. At the plate, Larson had four round-trippers and 17 runs batted in. |
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Stacie Lokken OF/C Hibbing Community College |
Stacie Lokken was the top player for a young Hibbing squad this year, and led the Cardinals in most statistical categories. A two-sport standout, Lokken also represented Hibbing on the basketball court. Lokken is a freshman from Hibbing, Minnesota. |
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Megan Swedberg First Base Northland Community & Technical College |
Multi-sport standout Megan Swedberg closed out her NCTC career with a strong softball season for the Pioneers. A sophomore from Ogema, Minnesota, Swedberg led the team in RBI's during the spring campaign with 30 and hit for a .375 average overall. Defensively Swedberg was solid as well, earning a .957 fielding percentage at first base. |
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Sydney Denny Infielder Itasca Community College |
Itasca sophomore Sydney Denny aided ICC's success this year in both her offensive and defensive performances. At first base, Denny was a leader in fielding percentage and was a key force behind Itasca's second place finish in the MCAC Northern Division and in earning a NJCAA Region XIIIB Tournament berth. |
2018 NORTHERN DIVISION
HONORABLE MENTION TEAM
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Cassie Cornell Infield Mesabi Range College |
Mesabi Range College freshman Cassie Cornell had a solid 2018, hitting for a .404 average and two home runs and three stolen bases. In two-out situations, Cornell stepped up for MRC, hitting at .476 clip with runners in position and two outs. |
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Alison Huber Catcher / Infield Hibbing Community College |
Alison Huber earned Hononable Mention status for Hibbing Community College in 2018. Huber, a two-sport standout for the Cardinals excelled on the basketball court and the softball field for HCC. Huber is a sophomore from Ashland, Wisconsin. |
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McKailah Salway Infield Northland Community & Technical College |
McKailah Salway battled for Northland CTC throughout the year, hitting at a .362 pace and 17 RBI's on the 2018 season. The freshman from Fairbanks, Alaska was second in the NCTC squad in total hits, while playing third base for the Pioneers. |
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Tessa Solo Catcher Northland Community & Technical College |
Despite starting the year with a wrist injury, Tessa Solo established herself as one of the top catchers in the Northern Division over the course of 2018. The freshman from Baudette, Minnesota, led the Conference in stolen bases and only allowed seven passed balls all year from behind the plate. |
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Xenia Hillman Catcher / Outfield Itasca Community College
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Xenia Hillman had to adjust from the outfield to the catchers role due to injuries within the team. The sophomore from Kelliher, Minnesota was one of the most versatile Vikings, able to line up in all the infield and outfield positions. Hillman put up strong offensive numbers against one of the strongest NJCAA Division III schedules in the MCAC. |
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Carli Haynes Infielder / Catcher Itasca Community College |
Carli Haynes, a sophomore from Grand Rapids, Minnesota playing at Itasca Community College was a solid leader for the Vikings throughout the 2018 campaign. Playing third base, Haynes gave ICC a balanced offensive and defensive season, evolving into a major contributor to the Itasca runner-up finish in the Northern Division regular season and post-season success. |
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Linsday Hendrickson Infield / Outfield Central Lakes College |
Central Lakes freshman Linsday Hendrickson not only hit five home runs over the course of 2018, three of those round-trippers were grand slams. In just 55 at-bats, the CLC standout had 26 RBI's for the Raiders. |
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Brooke Jerger Pitcher / Infield Central Lakes College |
Lining up both as a infielder and a pitcher for Central Lakes College, Brooke Jerger was able to contribute to the Raiders success in 2018. In the pitching circle, she racked up a 6-3 mark as a starter. Offensively, Jerger hit for a .387 average with ten extra-base hits and 27 RBI's. |
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Rylie Donahue Outfield Itasca Community College |
A sophomore outfielder from Greenway High School, Rylie Donahue was a solid offensive and defensive two-way player for the Vikings. As the lead-off hitter at ICC, Donahue was responsible for setting the table for a potent Vikings offense during the 2018 spring season.
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