NFCA DIVISION III ALL-REGION SOFTBALL TEAMS
MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg College softball players
Kylee Persing (SR, Mound, Minn./Mound-Westonka HS) and
Allyson Ruedy (JR, Waseca, Minn.) were named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III All-Midwest Region team as third-team at-large recipients, it was announced on Monday.
It's the first all-region selection for both players, and the first Augsburg selections to the NFCA All-Region squad since Tiffany Magnuson was named as a third-team selection in 2008. Augsburg has had 33 softball players named to NFCA All-Region squads since 1984.
Playing at third base and pitcher this season, Persing had the best hitting year of her career in 2012, hitting .361 (48-of-133) with 10 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 19 RBI, 30 runs scored, a .556 slugging percentage and .414 on-base percentage, while also going 11-for-11 on stolen bases. In the pitching circle, she finished 11-9 in 20 appearances (17 starts, nine complete games) with a .522 earned-run average and one shutout. In 122.1 innings pitched, Persing struck out 62 while walking 51 and allowing a .324 opponent batting average.
Among Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference players in overall statistics, Persing ranked sixth in stolen bases and 10th in total bases (74) as a hitter, while her 11 pitching wins were tied for sixth-best and her 29 pitching appearances were tied for fifth-best.
In her four seasons at Augsburg (149 games, 141 starts), Persing hit .295 (118-of-400) with 22 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 67 RBI, 76 runs scored, a .443 slugging percentage and .358 on-base percentage, while claiming 24-of-28 stolen bases. In 87 career pitching appearances (56 starts, 29 complete games), she finished with a 34-23 record, two saves, a 4.78 ERA and three shutouts. In 353.2 career innings pitched, she recorded 193 strikeouts against 183 walks, with a .296 opponent batting average.
Persing finished her career tied for second in school history in career home runs (11), while ranking seventh in career RBI (67), third in career hit-by-pitch (9), and eighth in career total bases (177). Her 87 pitching appearances are the sixth-most in school history, while her 193 career strikeouts are also sixth-most.
A shortstop, Ruedy also had the best hitting career of her year in 2012, leading the team with a .377 batting average (49-of-130) -- a .113 improvement over her .264 average in 2011. She hit a team-high six home runs and drove in a team-best 30 runs, while also contributing 10 doubles, a triple and five stolen bases in five attempts. Her .608 slugging percentage and .421 on-base percentage were also team highs.
Among MIAC players in overall statistics, Ruedy's six home runs and 30 RBI were both fourth-best, while her 79 total bases were sixth-best, and her .608 slugging percentage was ninth-best.
In her three seasons at Augsburg (98 games, 91 starts), Ruedy is hitting .323 (83-of-257) with 15 doubles, a triple, 11 home runs, 49 RBI, 42 runs scored, eight stolen bases in nine attempts, a .518 slugging percentage and .374 on-base percentage. She currently stands tied for second in school history in career home runs (11) and fifth in career slugging percentage (.518).
A total of 45 players from the Midwest Region were named to three 15-player squads, with the first two teams sorted by position and the third team made up entirely of at-large selections.
Under Under sixth-year head coach
Tim Gormley, Augsburg finished 20-22 overall, 13-9 in MIAC play, qualifying for the four-team MIAC postseason playoffs for the second time since the conference established the four-team postseason tournament in 2004, and the first time since 2008. Augsburg has recorded 20-plus victories in four of the last five seasons, in addition to 10-plus conference victories in four of the last five seasons. Augsburg's third-place finish in the MIAC standings was its best conference regular-season finish since a third-place finish in 1992 (24-12 overall, 16-4 MIAC).
