Above: Players attending the awards banquet in person were, L-R, front row: Cassandra Connor, Sophie Shouler, Allison Jindra and Kaylee Karels. Back row: Laci Hollerich, Emma Sweere, Halle McCabe, Grayce Kortuem, Maddy Steen, Emily Kern and Harley Connor.
Many of the awards went to graduated seniors, now a few weeks off to college, but varsity softball finally got its awards banquet in on Wednesday.
Presided by head coach Dan Fredrickson, the ceremony was held in the school commons.
Halle McCabe, one of the four seniors last spring, made it to the event in person and face timed in the other three: Nicole McCabe, Macey Ziebarth and Brianna Connor.
Outfielder Nicole McCabe was one of two players elected by Valley Conference coaches to the All-Conference first team. She also made the All-Section team and was also chosen by her teammates as their Most Valuable Player and the Offensive Player of the Year.
“I think she was among the top three hitters that I’ve coached,” Fredrickson said. “Her contact skills were amazing.”
McCabe’s statistical awards included the most doubles (eight), the most hits (32), the most runs (22) and the highest batting average (.432).
Pitcher and infielder Emily Kern, a junior last spring, was also voted into the Valley first team. Her teammates choose her for the Pitcher of the Year award. Her statistical trophies as a pitcher included the best ERA, the most strikeouts (67) and the most wins (seven).
On offense, Kern also took home bling for the most total bases (52), the most stolen bases (10, even though most were by a pinch runner), the most RBIs (22) and the most home runs (five), which was a season home run record for the Clippers.
Shortstop Halle McCabe was named to the All-Conference second team. In a tie vote, her teammates named her as one of two to earn the Defensive Player of the Year award. She also had the most triples (three).
Ziebarth, the team’s center fielder, also was named by her fellow Clippers as the Defensive Player of the Year. They also thought her best fit for the Hustle Award.
“Both players were absolute anchors and stalwarts at their position,” Fredrickson said. “They made a lot of great plays all year…steady players.”
Sophomore catcher Harley Connor was voted by her teammates as the Rookie of the Year. She was also named to the All-Valley second team. Her cousin Brianna Connor, the Clippers’ third baseman, was an All-Conference Honorable Mention.
The Spirit Award went to junior second baseman Taylin Gosch.
“I thought she was a real good teammate,” Fredrickson said.
In another tie, freshmen Cassandra Connor and Kaylee Karels were voted by their teammates as the Most Improved Players.
Junior pitcher Sierra Davis earned the most saves award (three).
Along with the award winners above, letters went to freshmen Laci Hollerich and Greta Hahn, sophomores Sophie Shouler and Emma Sweere, and juniors Grayce Kortuem, Maddy Steen, Ashley Connor and Allison Jindra.
With a GPA of over 3.5 during the season, the four seniors and Kern earned Academic All-Conference Awards.
The Clippers finished their season with a 10-10 record. They were tied for third in the Valley Conference (behind LCWM and Nicollet) and sixth in the sections. Fredrickson noted that nine of the teams the Clippers faced were in the top ten of either A or AA.
Eight Clippers batted over .300, but the Clippers averaged only seven runs per game.
“That’s the most hitters I’ve had over .300,” Fredrickson said. “The math would suggest we score even more runs than we did, but we ended up with a lot of runners stranded. That’s telltale of the last game we played at Caswell. We left the bases loaded in a couple of innings against a really good pitcher.”
But the offense came through on many occasions, and the defense did too, and that made the season enjoyable, Fredrickson said.
“You a lot of pressure on the pitcher the way you hit the ball and ran the bases. You were an exceptional offensive team and a really good defensive team. You could make plays everywhere, and it was a lot of fun.”
Cassandra Connor, Harley Connor, Kaylee Karels, Halle McCabe and Emily Kern were among the top award winners.
Emily Kern will need her dad Rich to build her another shelf just for the hardware she took home from the softball banquet.