HIGH-SCHOOL

All-HOIC softball selections

Staff Writer
Tri-County Times
Mikayla Houge

Collins-Maxwell-Baxter and North Polk combined for 14 selections on the 2016 all-Heart of Iowa Conference softball teams.

CMB had eight players named all-conference after winning the HOIC with a 13-2 conference record. The Raiders went on to reach the state tournament and place fifth in Class 3A.

Making the first team from CMB were eighth-grade pitcher Mikayla Houge, senior first baseman Payge Jurgens and junior utility choice Abbey Kahler.

Houge was 8-1 with an 0.58 earned-run average in 60 ⅔ innings during HOIC competition. She tallied 68 strikeouts and 15 walks.

Jurgens hit .333 with a .509 on-base average and .718 slugging average against HOIC competition. She totaled four home runs, 12 runs and eight RBI.

Kahler went 5-1 with a 1.75 ERA, 42 strikeouts and just one walk in 40 innings versus conference competition. She also hit .426 with two home runs and 13 RBI versus HOIC foes.

Making the all-HOIC first team from North Polk were freshman pitcher Sophie Swygmann, junior third baseman Rebecca Rimathe and senior outfielder Audrey Ley. The trio helped the Comets go 10-5 in the HOIC.

Swygmann was 7-3 with a 1.65 ERA in 72 ⅓ innings against HOIC teams. She totaled 45 strikeouts against 15 walks.

Rimathe hit .404 with a .443 OBA and .719 slugging average in the conference. She totaled six doubles, four homers, 15 runs and nine RBI.

Ley posted a .487 batting average with a .641 slugging mark. She recorded six doubles, six runs and eight RBI in 12 conference games.

The rest of the all-HOIC first team was made up of: South Hamilton catcher Alyssa Hegland; Saydel catcher Lyndsay Bianchi and outfielder Anneliese Barton; Greene County infielder Carleigh Paup and outfielder Sydney Koch; Prairie City-Monroe infielder Jayci Vos and Roland-Story utility pick Hailey Louw. Hegland, Bianichi and Koch were unanimous selections.

Making the all-HOIC second team from CMB were freshman catcher Hannah Caple, junior second baseman Mikayla Eslinger and junior center fielder Megan Ritter.

Caple hit .316 with a .409 OBA and four RBI in eight conference games. She also threw out two of three runners that tried to steal on her and went without an error behind the plate.

Eslinger hit .348 with a .587 slugging average in 15 HOIC games. She totaled two doubles, two triples and 15 RBI.

Ritter was a utility pick on the second team. She hit .405 with 11 steals and 10 runs in 11 HOIC games and also made 10 putouts in the outfield.

Sophomore first baseman Paige Sandberg made the all-HOIC second team from North Polk. Sandberg hit .378 with three doubles, eight runs and seven RBI in conference play and she also made 136 putouts and six assists against six errors in the field.

The other all-HOIC second team choices were: Saydel pitcher Taylor Tague, infielder Alexis Carney and utility pick Jenna Jackson; South Hamilton pitcher Ady Wintermote; PCM catcher Courtney Bridges and outfielder Abby Waddell; Roland-Story infielder Kelsey Polaski and outfielder Jenna Clark and Greene County outfielder Megan Carey

Sophomore Katie Camp and eighth-grader Holly Jessen both made all-HOIC honorable mention from CMB.

Camp hit .283 with nine runs and five steals, plus only one error in the outfield during conference play. Jessen hit .226 with two RBI and also registered 61 putouts, four assists and only two errors playing at catcher and third base.

Sophomore Becca Ley and freshman Baily Hougham made honorable mention from North Polk.

Becca hit .381 with a .524 slugging average in 11 HOIC games. She also delivered four doubles, one triple and 10 runs and recorded just one error in the field.

Hougham went 3-1 against HOIC teams in 20 ⅓ innings on the mound. She had eight strikeouts and seven walks.

All-Heart of Iowa Conference softball teams

First team: P - Mikayla Houge (8th grade), CMB; Sophie Swygmann (Fr.), North Polk. C - Alyssa Hegland (Sr.)*, South Hamilton; Lyndsay Bianchi (Jr.)*, Saydel. IF - Carleigh Paup (Sr.), Greene County, Rebecca Rimathe (Jr.), North Polk; Payge Jurgens (Sr.), CMB; Jayci Vos (Jr.), PCM. OF - Sydney Koch (Sr.)*, Greene County; Audrey Ley (Sr.), North Polk, Anneliese Barton (Jr.), Saydel. UTIL - Abbey Kahler (Jr.), CMB; Hailey Louw (So.), Roland-Story.

Second team: P - Taylor Tague (Sr.), Saydel; Ady Wintermote (Jr.), South Hamilton. C - Hannah Caple (Fr.), CMB; Courtney Bridges (Jr.), PCM. IF - Kelsey Polaski (Sr.), Roland-Story; Alexis Carney (So.), Saydel; Paige Sandberg (So.), North Polk; Mikayla Eslinger (Jr.), CMB. OF - Megan Carey (Fr.), Greene County; Jenna Clark (So.), Roland-Story; Abby Waddell (Jr.), PCM. UTIL - Megan Ritter (Jr.), CMB; Jenna Jackson (Sr.), Saydel.

Honorable mention: Katie Camp (So.), CMB; Holly Jessen (8th grade), CMB; Riley Nelson (Fr.), Gilbert; Sydney Grouwinkel (So.), Gilbert; Hannah Promes (Jr.), Greene County; Jenna Byers (Fr.), Greene County; Megan Anderson (Sr.), Nevada; Mackenzie Garrett (So.), Nevada; Rebecca Ley (So.), North Polk; Bailey Hougham (Fr.), North Polk; Kayla Jennings (Jr.), PCM; Jaiden Rogers (Jr.), PCM; Sydney Mathis (So.), Roland-Story; Brooke Huffaker (Sr.), Roland-Story; Carissa Boley (So.), Saydel; Jade Olsen (Fr.), Saydel; Alissa Moss (Jr.), South Hamilton; Taylor Volkmann (Fr.), Saydel.

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*Denotes unanimous selection

Final HOIC standings

CMB 13-2

Saydel 11-4

North Polk 10-5

South Hamilton 10-6

Greene County 8-8

PCM 6-8

Roland-Story 5-10

Gilbert 4-12

Nevada 2-14