Fort Hays State had six players named to the All-MIAA softball team, announced on Thursday evening prior to the beginning of the conference’s softball tournament. Pitcher Maddie Holub and second baseman Taylor Nelson were named to the first team while catcher Callie Wright and first baseman Adriana Wortley were second team selections. Wortley was also chosen as the MIAA’s Defensive Player of the Year. Third baseman Chelsey Rottinghaus and outfielder Amanda Vaupel were honorable mention selections.
Holub just completed one of the most decorated regular seasons in Fort Hays State history. She led the MIAA and ranked in the top five in NCAA Division II in strikeouts (279) and saves (4) and set an FHSU single-season record in both categories. Holub is currently 17-8 on the year with a 1.64 ERA in 175.0 innings pitched. She was a three-time MIAA Player of the Week, twice as a pitcher and once as a hitter, and was just named the Louisville Slugger Division II Pitcher of the Week by the NFCA on Wednesday. Holub, a junior from Hays, is also one of the Tigers top offensive threats, leading the team in batting average (.347), hits (51) and home runs (7) and ranking in the top three in almost every other offensive category. This is the third All-MIAA selection for Holub, who was a second team choice in 2010 and an honorable mention selection last season, both as a utility player.
Nelson earns the first All-MIAA nod of her career with FHSU after starting all 46 regular season games at second base and being one of the Tigers most consistent hitters. She leads the team in runs scored (35), doubles (10), triples (3) and RBI (31) and ranks third in batting average (.320). Nelson, a senior from Kansas City, Mo., had one of her best weekends to close out the regular season, hitting .538 in four games last weekend, which included hitting for the cycle in the series against Pittsburg State. She has also been solid in the field for the Tigers, recording 78 putouts and 45 assists and ending the regular season with a .953 fielding percentage.
Wortley becomes the first FHSU player to win the MIAA’s Defensive Player of the Year award and she earns her third consecutive second team selection at first base. She has a .319 batting average for the year and ranks second on the team with seven doubles, six home runs and 22 RBI. Wortley, a senior from Tacoma, Wash., earns the defensive award after recording 273 putouts and 12 assists while committing only four errors for a .986 fielding percentage. She is the first Fort Hays State player to win the award since the Tigers joined the conference for the 2007 season.
Wright earns her first All-MIAA honor after having a strong year behind the dish for the Tigers. Wright, who played in the outfield as a freshman, moved to catcher this year and responded by hitting .252 with six doubles, one triple, three home runs and 21 RBI. She has also been strong defensively, throwing out seven runners stealing and picking off four more. Wright, a sophomore from Topeka, Kan., finished the regular season with a .984 fielding percentage and she had a team-high seven sacrifice hits.
Rottinghaus also picked up her first All-MIAA nod in her first year with the Tigers after transferring from Labette (Kan.) Community College. She is hitting .275 for the year and has hit six doubles, one triple and three home runs while ending the regular season with 15 RBI. She has also become one of the Tigers best threats on the base path, stealing eight bases in nine attempts. Rottinghaus, a junior from Seneca, Kan., recorded 36 putouts and 84 assists to finish the year with a .938 fielding percentage.
Vaupel becomes the first FHSU freshman to earn All-MIAA accolades since Holub in 2010. She emerged as one of the top hitting threats for the Tigers while playing every game this year in center field. Vaupel ranks second on the team in hitting with an average of .333 and she has 47 hits, including five doubles and two home runs. Vaupel, a freshman from Olathe, Kan., also ranks third on the team with 25 RBI and she has been hit by a pitch a team-high five times.
– FHSU Sports Information –