EAST PEORIA, Ill. – The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced Wednesday night that Truman State University junior Christa Reisinger was selected as the Player of the Year in the sport of softball. Additionally, University of Illinois Springfield senior utility player Ali Haesele was chosen as GLVC Pitcher of the Year, and McKendree University’s Miranda Gajewski was named GLVC Freshman of the Year. Prairie Stars’ head coach Shannon Guthrie was also voted by her peers as GLVC Coach of the Year. These individuals were recognized for their efforts at an awards reception on the eve of the 2018 GLVC Softball Championship Tournament, which begins Thursday, May 3 in East Peoria, Illinois. A total of 43 student-athletes were also recognized as All-Conference honorees and 15 student-athletes were nominated for the James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award.
Two years ago, Reisinger was the first Bulldog selected as GLVC Freshman of the Year, and then became the first in program history to earn the league’s highest accolade a year ago, while she has now been voted as such once again. Last year, she was just the third player in GLVC history to accomplish the feat of winning the top newcomer and player honor in back-to-back seasons, but she is the first to win three top laurels in consecutive campaigns. This season, the junior led the league in batting average (.471), slugging percentage (.787), on-base percentage (.565), runs scored (49), runs per game (1.11), hits per game (1.45), and stolen bases per game (0.84). She also finished the regular season second in total bases (107), walks (27), stolen bases (37), steal attempts (39), and walks per game (0.61). In addition to those numbers, she ranked in the top five for plate appearances per game (3.89, 3rd), home runs per game (0.23, 3rd), hits (64, 3rd), home runs (10, 5th), and homers per game (0.23, 4th). For GLVC-only games, Reisinger led the loop in batting average (.438), on-base percentage (.519), and stolen bases (19), ranking tied for second in total bases (67) and runs scored (28) while third in slugging percentage (.753) and hits (39). At the beginning of the season, the center fielder was named to the Schutt Sports/NFCA DII Player of the Year watch list, was the inaugural GLVC Player of the Week Feb. 12 and won again April 16, and recently was named a top-25 finalist for the Schutt Sports/NFCA DII Player of the Year accolade for the second year in a row. This is her third-straight season being named to the All-GLVC First Team and the second as a unanimous pick.
Haesele becomes Illinois Springfield’s first major postseason award winner with her Pitcher of the Year distinction. She was also named to the All-GLVC First Team for the first time thanks to her efforts in the circle during the 2018 slate. The senior’s 21 wins led the league, as did her numbers for batters struck out (186) and struck out looking (49). She was fourth in ERA (2.16), and her 171.2 innings pitched was third most while tied for second with 26 games started. Her 14 Conference wins was the second most, while her 111 strikeouts against league opponents came in as the third highest mark. She didn’t just produce from the rubber, however, as the senior also tallied top-10 numbers in numerous offensive categories, including but not limited to doubles (18, 3rd), stolen bases (18, t-3rd), hits (62, 4th), and batting average (.369, 9th). Additionally, she was the only player in 2018 to be chosen as both a Player (April 10) and Pitcher (April 30 & Feb. 26) of the Week, while the only hurler to be named a weekly honoree more than once.
Gajewski’s distinction as the top newcomer in the league is the first major postseason honor for McKendree in the sport. She was also unanimously chosen to the All-GLVC First Team and picked up her first career weekly award as the March 19th Pitcher of the Week. This season, Gajewski had the best earned run average (1.76) and tied for the second-most wins (20) in her league-high 6.21 innings per game. At the plate, she was tied for seventh with 59 hits. The Kronenwetter, Wis., native was tied for third with 10 wins against league foes, had the fifth-best ERA (2.12) and started the fourth-most GLVC games (15). She was also top-10 in opponent batting average (.236, 7th), innings pitched (92.2, 7th), completed games (10, t-7th), and strikeouts (63, 10th).
Guthrie has become the first Prairie Stars mentor to be voted by her peers as the Coach of the Year. The 2018 campaign was the best for UIS under the fourth-year head coach’s tutelage, as the team went 35-14 overall and 22-6 in league play. This season also marked the first time in program history the team was ranked in the NFCA Top-25 Coaches’ Poll, making its highest appearance at No. 17 while also ranking second in the Midwest Region. Additionally, Guthrie eclipsed the all-time coaching record for wins at UIS, which now stands at 122 after her third 30-win season. Her squad also won its first-ever outright GLVC regular season title and earned the top seed in the GLVC Championship Tournament for the first time, as well, as she guided six to All-GLVC recognition and Haesele to the league’s highest pitching laurel.
Reisinger, Haesele, and Gajewski are joined by 11 others on the All-GLVC First Team, including Gajewski’s sister Brooke, who was the only other unanimous selection to the team. McKendree had one other first-teamer in senior catcher Rebecca Franke, while UIS had two others in sophomore shortstop Erin Stroup and sophomore outfielder Lakyn Wagoner. University of Missouri-St. Louis was the only other team with multiple first-team nods, including junior pitcher Carly Kingery and junior first baseman Chelsea Martinez. Drury University sophomore outfielder Jacy Ummel, University of Indianapolis sophomore pitcher Lauren Honkomp, Missouri S&T sophomore utility player Olivia Young, University of Southern Indiana senior third baseman Mena Fulton, and William Jewell College senior second baseman Brooke Bernard round out the First Team team.
The league also recognized 15 GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award honorees and Quincy as the team award winner. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced in May.
Each of the three All-GLVC teams is made up of 14 players, including four infielders by position (3B, SS, 2B, 1B), three outfielders, one catcher, one designated player, three pitchers, one utility player pitcher, and one utility player non-pitcher. This year, the third team is made up of 15 players due to a tie in the voting.
A complete list of All-GLVC performers and major postseason award winners can be found below.
2018 GLVC Player of the Year: Christa Reisinger, Jr., OF, Truman State
2018 GLVC Pitcher of the Year: Ali Haesele, Sr., UT/P, Illinois Springfield
2018 GLVC Freshman of the Year: Miranda Gajewski, P, McKendree
2018 GLVC Coach of the Year: Shannon Guthrie, Illinois Springfield
2018 SOFTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
Jacy Ummel, So., OF, DU
Ali Haesele, Sr., UT-P, UIS #
Erin Stroup, So., SS, UIS
Lakyn Wagoner, So., OF, UIS
Lauren Honkomp, So., P, UINDY
Brooke Gajewski, Sr., DP, MCK #
Miranda Gajewski, Fr., P, MCK #
Rebecca Franke, Sr., C, MCK
Olivia Young, So., UT-NP, S&T
Carly Kingery, Jr., P, UMSL
Chelsea Martinez, Jr., 1B, UMSL
Mena Fulton, Sr., 3B, USI
Christa Reisinger, Jr., OF, TSU #
Brooke Bernard, Sr., 2B, WJC
# Unanimous |
SECOND TEAM
Bree Derhake, So., UT-NP, UIS
Calla Wickenhauser, Fr., 3B, UIS
Jaycee Craver, Jr., P, UIS
Morgan Edwards, Jr., 1B, UIS
Kelsey Martin, Sr., OF, MU
Alyssa Callans, So., UT-P, MU
Jennah Perryman, Sr., 2B, UMSL
Reagan Osborn, Jr., SS, UMSL
Serena Olson, Jr., C, UMSL
Megan Sharpshair, So., OF, QU
Shannon Greene, Jr., P, RU
Allison Schubert, So., OF, USI
Jennifer Leonhardt, So., P, USI
Morgan McMahan, Jr., DP, TSU
|
THIRD TEAM
Emily Stringer, Sr., 2B, DU
Gianni Iannantone, Fr., DP, UINDY
Haylie Foster, Fr., UTP, UINDY
Jaclyn Pasakarnis, So., SS, MU
Avery English, So., P, S&T
Gretchen Egly, Jr., 1B, S&T
Monica Weiss, Sr., UTNP, S&T
Abby Klein, So., SS, S&T
Andee Tiffee, Jr., P, UMSL
Sapphire Munoz, Fr., OF, UMSL
Morgan Heckman, Jr., OF, QU
Hanna Stam, Jr., C, RU
Lauren Dale, Jr., P, TSU
Alyssa Rivera, So., 3B, TSU
Jessica Shields, So., OF, UWP
*Extra member due to tie |
2018 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD NOMINEES
Sabrina Fussenegger, BU
Jennifer Gonzalez, DU
Katie Wooldridge, UIS
Katelyn Fisher, UINDY
Kendyl Strack, LEWIS
Sheridon Sprague, MU
Paige Hayden, MCK
Ashley Rausch, S&T
Carly Kingery, UMSL
Raigen Schwartz, QU
Danielle Cross, RU
Claire Johnson, USI
Adrienne Compton, TSU
Danielle Crockett, UWP
Madeline Culbertson, WJC
2018 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD
Quincy