Lady
Blues place 3 on All-MIAA team
May 6, 2003
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- The Washburn Lady Blues placed three on the
All-MIAA first team - junior first baseman Dara Clouse, junior third
baseman Katie Schmidt and freshman centerfielder Tiffany Whitt. Both
Clouse and Schmidt are repeat choices to the first team and Whitt
was one of only two freshmen named to the first team.
Named to the second team were sophomore pitcher Katie Gregg and sophomore pitcher Ashley Perkins, senior catcher Julie Blaufuss, freshman designated player Kala Huske and freshman utility player Jackie Sells were all named to the honorable mention squad.
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association regular
season and postseason tournament champion Truman State University
(39-14, 15-3 MIAA) had four players earn first-team honors on the
2003 All-MIAA squad as voted on by the conference's coaches prior
to last weekend's tournament.
Junior SS Elizabeth Economon repeated as the conference's
Most Valuable Player selection, entering the NCAA Division II North
Central Regional as the MIAA's leader in hitting (.427), home runs
(16 -- .302 per game), RBI (59 -- 1.11 per game) and runs scored (45
-- .85 per game). Economon also was the only unanimous choice to the
first team.
Joining her from Truman on the first-team are senior
RHP Britni Buford, sophomore OF Stephanie Cepicky and freshman 3B
Loni Wedemeier. Wedemeier (0.96) and Buford (1.03) are 1-2 on the
conference ERA leaders list, while Cepicky, a second-team All-MIAA
choice in 2001 who missed last season with a knee injury, is second
in stolen bases (23 -- 0.43 per game). Wedemeier is among the conference
leaders in hitting (18th, .305), slugging (15th, .457) and RBI (10th,
30 -- .57 per game).
Regular season runner-up Washburn (34-14, 13-5 MIAA)
had two repeat first-team selections from 2002 -- junior 1B Dara Clouse
and junior 3B Katie Schmidt (who was first team as a designated player
last season). They were joined by freshman OF Tiffany Whitt.
Economon, Clouse, Schmidt and senior C Megan Beattie
of tournament runner-up Emporia State (37-20, 9-9 MIAA) were the only
repeat first-teamer from 2002.
Rounding out the first team are junior DP Cassi Haines
and senior utility player Christy Capner of Southwest Baptist (4-28,
3-15 MIAA), junior RHP Christy Deken and junior 2B Janet Borgmeyer
of Missouri-Rolla (19-26, 7-11 MIAA), senior OF Kelly Carter and freshman
utility player Ashley Pride of Northwest Missouri State (30-21, 10-8
MIAA) and junior OF Desireé Price of Central Missouri State
(32-21, 12-6 MIAA).
ESU P/DP Melissa Stevens, who led the Lady Hornets to
the championship round of the conference tournament with three straight
shutouts and has a league-leading 20 wins, was selected as Freshman
of the Year. She also earned second-team All-MIAA honors in the pitching
circle.
Emporia State's Stacy Gemeinhardt (pronounced ga-MINE-hardt) and Missouri-Rolla's Dave Burwell shared the Coach of the Year honors. ESU's 37 wins is the most for the school in softball since 1996, while UMR qualified for the conference tournament after missing out last season -- improving on its 2002 record by 6 1/2 games.
Complete squad
First Team Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown Britni Buford, TSU P 5-7 Sr. Kahoka, Mo. Christy Deken, UMR P 5-9 Jr. Poplar Bluff, Mo. øMegan Beattie, ESU C 5-8 Sr. Olathe, Kan. øDara Clouse, WU 1B 5-6 Jr. Silver Lake, Kan. Janet Borgmeyer, UMR 2B 5-10 Jr. Jefferson City, Mo. *øElizabeth Economon, TSU SS 5-3 Jr. St. Louis, Mo. øKatie Schmidt, WU 3B 5-5 Jr. Topeka, Kan. Loni Wedemeier, TSU 3B 5-7 Fr. Bowling Green, Mo. Kelly Carter, NWMSU OF 5-5 Sr. Excelsior Springs, Mo. Stephanie Cepicky, TSU OF 5-5 So. St. Louis, Mo. Desire Price, CMSU OF 5-8 Jr. Olathe, Kan. Tiffany Whitt, WU OF 5-7 Fr. Overland Park, Kan. Cassi Haines, SBU DP 5-3 Jr. Wichita, Kan. Christy Capner, SBU UT 5-7 Sr. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Ashley Pride, NWMSU UT 5-9 Fr. Ravenwood, Mo. *=unanimous choice ø=First-team All-MIAA choice in 2002 Two third basemen, four outfielders and two utility players were selected due to ties in voting. Second Team Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown Katie Gregg, WU P 5-7 So. Overland Park, Kan. Melissa Stevens, ESU P 5-5 Fr. Lenexa, Kan. Megan Spring, NWMSU C 5-6 Jr. Warsaw, Mo. Leann Paul, TSU 1B 5-7 Jr. Olathe, Kan. Sissy Fletcher, CMSU 2B 5-3 Sr. DeSoto, Kan. Lisa Roe, MSSC 2B 5-5 Sr. Lenexa, Kan. Tara Risetter, NWMSU SS 5-5 So. Junction City, Kan. Whitney Brownfield, MWSC OF 5-7 So. Blue Springs, Mo. Angie McCoy, NWMSU OF 5-10 Jr. Excelsior Springs, Mo. Alese Woolard, MSSC OF 5-5 So. Claremore, Okla. Michelle Martinez, PSU DP 5-3 Sr. Escondido, Calif. Jana Allison, MSSC UT 5-4 Sr. Lebanon, Mo. Two second basemen were selected due to a tie in the voting. No second-team third baseman was selected. Honorable Mention Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown Shelly MacDonald, NWMSU P 5-9 So. Lawson, Mo. Ashley Perkins, WU P 5-7 So. Shawnee, Kan. Deb Potter, ESU P 5-9 Jr. Shawnee, Kan. Renee Roberts, UMR P 5-7 Fr. Columbia, Mo. Laura Ruebhausen, CMSU P 5-6 Jr. Leavenworth, Kan. Breanna Wonderly, TSU P 5-5 Jr. Conception, Mo. Mary Barrow, MSSC C 5-5 So. Muskogee, Okla. Julie Blaufuss, WU C 5-10 Sr. Lenexa, Kan. Brigette Hull, PSU C 5-4 So. Sedan, Kan. Mickey McCulloch, CMSU C 5-10 So. Prince George, B.C., Canada Kristen Armilio, MSSC 1B 5-5 Sr. Belton, Mo. Amy Beverly, MWSC 1B 5-9 Fr. Ankeny, Iowa Beth Blackburn, CMSU 1B 5-10 Jr. Ballwin, Mo. Kelly Gartner, ESU 1B 5-9 Jr. Topeka, Kan. Shelby Ortwerth, TSU 2B 5-6 Sr. Hannibal, Mo. Valerie Curtis, MWSC SS 5-3 Sr. Davenport, Iowa Jenny Meitz, UMR SS 5-7 Jr. Pacific, Mo. Kami Weston, MSSC SS 5-5 Jr. Baxter Springs, Kan. Lindsey Abbott, ESU OF 5-8 So. Oskaloosa, Kan. Molly Balke, UMR OF 5-4 Jr. High Ridge, Mo. Cheratin Dunn, SBU OF 5-9 Fr. Marshfield, Mo. Kara Reed, MSSC OF 5-4 Jr. Linwood, Kan. Kelly Ulrich, MWSC OF 5-7 Sr. Monticello, Minn. Thea Summers, CMSU DP 5-6 Sr. Marshall, Mo. Kala Huske, WU DP 5-5 Fr. Overland Park, Kan. Jackie Sells, WU UT 5-3 So. Lee's Summit, Mo. Most Valuable Player Elizabeth Economon, SS, TSU Freshman of the Year Melissa Stevens, P/DP, ESU Co-Coaches of the Year Dave Burwell, UMR & Stacy Gemeinhardt, ESU