May 5, 2004
Spring, McCoy Named First Team All-MIAA
Courtesy of Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics AssociationOVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association regular season champion Truman State University Bulldogs and MIAA tournament champion Emporia State University Lady Hornets each placed three players on the All-MIAA first-team as voted by the conference's coaches.
Senior SS Elizabeth Economon of Truman (43-10, 14-4 MIAA) repeated as the conference's first-team shortstop, making the team for the third straight season. She has set career MIAA records for hits (272), runs scored (186), home runs (50), walks (132) and RBI (193). She's second in the conference in batting average (.413), and leads in slugging (.848) and on-base percentage (.592).
Economon was joined on the first team by two other repeat choices -- junior OF Stephanie Cepicky and sophomore UT Loni Wedemeier. Cepicky batted .339 with 25 stolen bases, while sporting a 1.000 fielding percentage with eight outfield assists in 2004. Wedemeier split time between pitching, second base and third base, hitting .352 with seven homers and 37 RBI, while going 17-5 in the circle with a 1.46 ERA.
Emporia State (42-16, 12-6 MIAA) was led by last season's MIAA Freshman of the Year, sophomore P Melissa Stevens. She is second in the conference in ERA (0.80), wins (26), shutouts (10) and strikeout ratio (7.93/7 IP).
Other Lady Hornets on the first team include junior 2B Kayla Hubbard and senior OF Lindsey Abbott. Hubbard is tied with teammate Morgan Viola for the MIAA lead in steals (36 -- .62 per game) and holds the conference lead in runs scored (54 -- .93 per game) while batting a team-best .379 (5th in the MIAA). Abbott leads ESU in home runs (11 -- .193 per game is fifth in the conference) while batting .304 with 30 RBI.
The only other repeat selection from the 2003 first-team and one of two unanimous choices this season also picked up the conference's Most Valuable Player award -- senior P Christy Deken of Missouri-Rolla (41-14, 13-5 MIAA).
She tied the NCAA Division II record with 23 strikeouts in one game, and her 346 strikeouts in 2004 destroyed the old MIAA record of 201. She's the NCAA Division II and MIAA leader in strikeout ratio (11.08/7 IP), and leads the conference in ERA (0.40), wins (27), opponent batting average (.121), complete games (28) and shutouts (16).
DP/P Lindsey Predovich of Missouri Western (31-19, 10-8 MIAA) was a first-team choice at designated player and the winner of the Freshman of the Year award. Predovich batted .376 with eight home runs and 39 RBI, and went 14-10 in the circle with a 1.78 ERA and a 7.59 strikeout ratio (third in the MIAA).
Rounding out the first team is Predovich's teammate, sophomore 1B Amy Beverly, the MIAA leader in batting average (.432 with 12 HR and 41 RBI); the unanimous choice at catcher, senior Megan Spring of Northwest Missouri State (20-33, 9-9 MIAA) batting .366 with five homers and 30 RBI; senior OF Angie McCoy of Northwest and sophomore 3B Libby Overman of Pittsburg State (44-23, 9-9 MIAA).
Western head coach Jennifer Bagley was the choice of her peers as Wilson/MIAA Coach of the Year. With a team made up primarily of sophomores and freshmen, she guided the Griffons to an improvement of 13 games from their mark last season -- their best record since going 31-16 in 1997.
First Team Pos Ht Cl Hometown *+Christy Deken, UMR P 5-9 Sr. Poplar Bluff, Mo. Melissa Stevens, ESU P 5-5 So. Lenexa, Kan. *Megan Spring, NWMSU C 5-6 Sr. Warsaw, Mo. Amy Beverly, MWSC 1B 5-9 So. Ankeny, Iowa Kayla Hubbard, ESU 2B 5-8 Jr. Wichita, Kan. ++Elizabeth Economon, TSU SS 5-3 Sr. St. Louis, Mo. Libby Overman, PSU 3B 5-8 So. Columbus, Kan. Lindsey Abbott, ESU OF 5-8 Sr. Oskaloosa, Kan. +Stephanie Cepicky, TSU OF 5-5 Jr. St. Louis, Mo. Angie McCoy, NWMSU OF 5-10 Sr. Excelsior Springs, Mo. Lindsey Predovich, MWSC DP 5-8 Fr. Virginia, Minn. !Loni Wedemeier, TSU UT 5-7 So. Bowling Green, Mo. *=unanimous choice +=First-team All-MIAA choice in 2003 ++=First-team All-MIAA in 2002 and 2003 !=First-team All-MIAA choice at third base in 2003 Second Team Pos Ht Cl Hometown Breanna Wonderly, TSU P 5-5 Sr. Conception, Mo. Lauren Young, CMSU P 5-8 Fr. Lenexa, Kan. Tommie Mitts, MWSC C 5-2 Jr. Skiatook, Okla. Emily Gastineau, PSU 1B 6-0 So. Clinton, Okla. Janet Borgmeyer, UMR 2B 5-10 Sr. Jefferson City, Mo. Kassie Long, CMSU SS 5-8 Sr. Carrollton, Mo. Megan Davison, ESU 3B 5-7 Fr. Derby, Kan. Molly Balke, UMR OF 5-4 Sr. High Ridge, Mo. Molly Gleisberg, WU OF 5-6 Sr. Olathe, Kan. Morgan Viola, ESU OF 5-7 Fr. McPherson, Kan. Abby Pittroff, UMR DP 5-7 So. St. Louis, Mo. Kala Huske, WU UT 5-5 So. Overland Park, Kan. Honorable Mention Pos Ht Cl Hometown Joanne Fluker, WU P 5-9 Fr. Valley Center, Kan. Shelly MacDonald, NWMSU P 5-9 Jr. Lawson, Mo. Deb Potter, ESU P 5-9 Sr. Shawnee, Kan. Renee Roberts, UMR P 5-7 So. Columbia, Mo. Laura Ruebhausen, CMSU P 5-6 Sr. Leavenworth, Kan. Erin Butler, UMR C 5-8 Sr. St. Louis, Mo. Holly Kessler, TSU C 5-6 Jr. Blue Springs, Mo. Mickey McCulloch, CMSU C 5-10 Sr. Prince George, B.C., Canada Rachael Bowen, MSSU 1B 5-5 Fr. Leavenworth, Kan. Dara Clouse, WU 1B 5-6 Sr. Silver Lake, Kan. Kelly Gartner, ESU 1B 5-9 Sr. Topeka, Kan. Heather Maggard, UMR 1B 5-6 So. Blue Springs, Mo. Leann Paul, TSU 1B 5-7 Sr. Olathe, Kan. Shannon Benash, MWSC 2B 5-7 So. Beatrice, Neb. A.J. Miller, PSU 2B 5-6 So. Clackamas, Ore. Bree Beattie, ESU SS 5-6 So. Olathe, Kan. Melissa Nimmo, NWMSU SS 5-7 Sr. Omaha, Neb. Kami Weston, MSSU SS 5-5 Sr. Baxter Springs, Kan. Ashley Juergens, MWSC 3B 5-6 Jr. Liberty, Mo. Katie Schmidt, WU 3B 5-5 Jr. Topeka, Kan. Gregan Ketchum, PSU OF 5-6 So. Neosho, Mo. Ashley Loncarich, PSU OF 5-1 So. Neosho, Mo. Katy Mueller, TSU OF 5-3 Sr. Affton, Mo. Kara Reed, MSSU OF 5-4 Sr. Linwood, Kan. Emmie Shaw, CMSU OF 5-5 Sr. Coralville, Iowa Sandy Wagner, UMR OF 5-4 Sr. Imperial, Mo. Ashley Webb, WU OF 5-11 Fr. Prairie Village, Kan. Sharell Anderson, PSU DP 5-7 Jr. Oklahoma City, Okla. Kaytee Schulenberg, NWMSU DP 5-4 Fr. Independence, Mo. Courtney Strubel, TSU DP 5-6 Jr. Olathe, Kan. Megan Bax, CMSU UT 5-5 So. Jefferson City, Mo. Stacy Foltz, ESU UT 5-5 Sr. Abilene, Kan. Cassi Haines, SBU UT 5-3 Sr. Wichita, Kan. Ashley Pride, NWMSU UT 5-9 Fr. Ravenwood, Mo. Most Valuable Player Christy Deken, P, UMR Freshman of the Year Lindsey Predovich, DP/P, MWSC Wilson Coach of the Year Jennifer Bagley, MWSC
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