2012 MIAC SOFTBALL AWARDS
MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg College softball players
Kylee Persing (SR, Mound, Minn./Mound-Westonka HS) and
Allyson Ruedy (JR, Waseca, Minn.) were named to the All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team, while teammate
Sammie Wagner (SR, Stillwater, Minn.) was named to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team, it was announced on Thursday.
It's the first All-MIAC honor for each player. Persing and Ruedy were both
named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III All-Midwest Region team earlier this week. Persing was named MIAC Athlete of the Week twice last season, while
Ruedy earned the honor this season on April 30.
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 league games-only, Persing stood fourth among league pitchers with a 2.12 ERA, while going 5-3 in 14 appearances (five starts, four complete games). In 59.1 innings pitched, she had 29 strikeouts against 13 walks and a .310 opponent batting average. At the plate in conference play, she was 10th among MIAC players in hitting, with a .403 batting average. She was also sixth among conference players with 29 hits, eighth in on-base percentage (.456) and tied for fourth with eight stolen bases.
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. Her 193 strikeouts are sixth-most in school history.
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 biology and chemistry major with a 3.78 grade-point average, Persing was named
Augsburg's Senior Honor Athlete -- the highest student-athlete honor the college gives -- at the
2012 Auggie Awards in April. She also earned Academic All-MIAC honors in 2010 and 2011.
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 league games-only, Ruedy's .406 batting average was ninth-best, while her .446 on-base percentage and .580 slugging percentage were both 10th-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).
Wagner was named to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team, as part of the conference's sportsmanship initiative. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.
Wagner appeared in 11 games (five starts) this season with a .235 batting average (4-for-17), with a run scored, a double and four RBI, to go along with a .294 slugging percentage and .316 on-base percentage. In her four seasons at Augsburg (42 games, eight starts), Wagner hit .256 (10-for-39) with six runs scored, a double, home run and seven RBI, to go along with a .359 slugging percentage and .326 on-base percentage.
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).
