After capping the year off with a 10-3 run and a narrow loss to a ranked team in the regional semifinals, the Washington Demon softball team had seven players named to one of the three All-Southeast Conference teams for the 2018 season.

The Demons had three first-teamers in freshman Kellie Dallmeyer and seniors Morgan Brinning and Megan Mitchell.  Dallmeyer finished third in the conference in hits (50), batting average (.442), and runs scored (39), as well as second in home runs (4).

Brinning finished her senior season with a .357 batting average and 28 runs scored, and was the only player in the conference to be hit by a pitch double-digit times (11).  This is Brinning’s third all-conference appearance, and her second on the first team.

In her senior year, Megan Mitchell was top-ten in the conference in hits with 45.  Those 45 hits were also good to vault her to a .354 batting average, and she was one of five players on Washington’s team to drive in more than 20 runs.  This is Mitchell’s third all-conference nod, and first time on the first team.

There were two second-teamers for Washington: junior Molly Sparks and sophomore Kaitlyn Mitchell.  Sparks was the ace in the circle for Washington all season, finishing second in the conference in earned run average (3.84), third in number of starts (19) and innings pitched (133) and fourth in strikeouts (72).  This is Sparks’s second straight second-team appearance.

After a second-team all-conference appearance a year ago as well, Mitchell finished her sophomore season with a .265 batting average, 17 RBI and ten runs scored.  Her eye at the plate was outstanding all year, taking 22 walks, which was good for second on the team, compared to striking out just four times.

There were two Demon honorable mentions as well in sophomore Alexa Mithell and junior Haylee Wilson.  Mitchell was named to the all-conference team for the first time based on her performance both offensively and in the pitching circle.  In 18 starts, she struck out 59 batters and walked just nine; good for a 6.55 strikeout to walk ratio, which was the best in the conference.  She also tied for third on the team in RBI with 21.

Wilson finished her year with 25 runs scored and a team-leading 23 RBI (tie- Dallmeyer).  She was hiting .339 at the end of the season; an improvement of 115 points from a year ago.  This is her first all-conference honor as well.

On top of the all-conference teams based on play, there is also the academic all-conference team, which is an honor given to juniors and seniors throughout the conference with a grade point average of 3.25 or above.  Five Demons qualified for that: juniors Tori Brush, Allison Hippen and Molly Sparks, as well as seniors Megan Mitchell and Morgan Brinning.

After a 7-19 start, the Demons finished the year with a 17-22 record.  They lose Brinning and Megan Mitchell to graduation, and retain the remaining 15 players.

 

All statistics gathered from quikstatsiowa.com