Winamac shortstop Keller named Hoosier North MVP

All-conference team includes 5 Winamac, 3 Pioneer, 3 Culver, 2 Caston, 1 NM players

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Softball

Hoosier North MVP Maggie Keller

Winamac shortstop Maggie Keller was named Hoosier North MVP in voting done by the conference’s coaches and released to the media Wednesday.

Keller was one of five players from the conference champion Lady Warriors picked first-team All-Hoosier North.

In addition, three Pioneer, three Culver, two Caston and one North Miami players were picked for the first team.

The honorable mention list includes two Pioneer players, one from Culver, two from North Miami and two from Argos.

Keller’s all-conference cohorts include seniors Makayla Werner and Brooke Rausch, junior Adrianna Hall and sophomore Grace Roth.

Keller hit .583 with a 1.570 OPS. She had 49 hits, 19 of which went for extra-bases, and 38 RBIs. Rausch hit .400 with 10 doubles and 21 RBIs and a .960 OPS, and she also went 11-2 with a 2.00 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 73 ⅓ innings in the circle. Werner hit .425 with five homers and 25 RBIs and an 1.117 OPS. Hall hit .415 with two homers and 27 RBIs, and she also had a team-high 15 doubles for an 1.120 OPS. She also went 9-2 with a 2.42 ERA in the circle and 105 strikeouts in 72 ⅓ innings. Roth hit .462 with four homers and 23 RBIs and a 1.211 OPS.

Pioneer’s Lois Layer, Averi Layer and Addison Kennell were picked for the first team, and teammates Ava Beasy and Madyson Shaffer were named honorable mention.

Lois Layer hit .583 with five homers and 41 RBIs and a 1.523 OPS. She also went 12-5 with a 2.69 ERA in the circle with 13 walks and 110 strikeouts in 99 innings. Averi Layer hit .444 with three homers and 24 RBIs and a 1.313 OPS. Kennell hit .329 with four homers and 25 RBIs and a 1.008 OPS.

Beasy, a senior, hit .325 with two homers and 27 RBIs and an .836 OPS. Shaffer, a sophomore center fielder, hit .427 with eight RBIs and a .918 OPS and a team-high 10 stolen bases.

Culver players picked for the first team included seniors Gracie Milam and Abigayle Zehner and junior Aiden Molebash while Hayden Lute earned honorable mention status.

Milam, a catcher, hit .517 with seven homers and 35 RBIs and a 1.730 OPS while striking out just three times. Zehner hit .508 with six homers and 19 RBIs and a 1.610 OPS, and she also stole a team-high 14 bases. Zehner also committed only one error in center field. Molebash went 7-5 with a 2.31 ERA in the circle with 138 strikeouts and only 22 walks in 85 innings. She also hit .482 with two homers and 24 RBIs and a 1.401 OPS.

Lute, a senior second baseman, hit .400 with one homer and 10 RBIs and a 1.024 OPS.

Caston’s first-team players included senior catcher Kylee Logan and junior pitcher-center fielder Natalie Warner.

Logan hit .559 with three homers and 25 RBIs. She had a team-leading 16 extra-base hits and a 1.509 OPS. Warner hit .431 with four homers and 25 RBIs and a 1.202 OPS while also going 3-1 with a 2.41 ERA in the circle. Warner had 32 strikeouts in 32 innings while yielding only one homer.

North Miami’s lone first-team player was sophomore first baseman Layla Hampton. Seniors Chloe Sparks and Zoey Sparks earned honorable mention status.

Hampton hit .383 with one homer and a team-leading 20 RBIs and 11 extra-base hits. She had a 1.167 OPS. Chloe Sparks, a catcher, hit .367 with three homers and 15 RBIs and a 1.067 OPS. Zoey Sparks hit .386 with two homers and 19 RBIs and a 1.082 OPS. She also went 2-6 with a 7.53 ERA in the circle while striking out 43 in a team-high 57 ⅔ innings pitched.

Argos had no players on the first team, but junior Ella Dean and freshman Adelyn Lewark both made honorable mention.

Dean hit .348 with eight RBIs and a .949 OPS. She also had a team-high 66 strikeouts in 73 ⅓ innings pitched. Lewark, a catcher, hit .375 with 16 RBIs and a 1.003 OPS. 

Winamac went 8-0 in the conference and beat Pioneer, Culver and North Judson by two games each for the title.

All-Hoosier North

MAGGIE KELLER (WINAMAC), LOIS LAYER (PIONEER), MAKAYLA WERNER (WINAMAC), Molly Madsen (North Judson), Olivia Timm (North Judson), KYLEE LOGAN (CASTON), GRACE ROTH (WINAMAC), ADRIANNA HALL (WINAMAC), BROOKE RAUSCH (WINAMAC), AVERI LAYER (PIONEER), ADDISON KENNELL (PIONEER), GRACIE MILAM (CULVER), AIDEN MOLEBASH (CULVER), ABIGAYLE ZEHNER (CULVER), Sophia Chaffins (North Judson), Amelia Chaffins (North Judson), NATALIE WARNER (CASTON), LAYLA HAMPTON (NORTH MIAMI)

Honorable mention

AVA BEASY (PIONEER), MADYSON SHAFFER (PIONEER), HAYDEN LUTE (CULVER), CHLOE SPARKS (NORTH MIAMI), ZOEY SPARKS (NORTH MIAMI), Lexi Kaufman (Triton), Clara Doll (Triton), ADELYN LEWARK (ARGOS), ELLA DEAN (ARGOS), Hana Simon (Oregon-Davis), Kynlee Orr (Oregon-Davis)

Hoosier North MVP – MAGGIE KELLER (WINAMAC)

Final standings

WINAMAC 8-0, PIONEER 6-2, CULVER 6-2, North Judson 6-2, CASTON 4-4, NORTH MIAMI 3-5, Triton 2-6, ARGOS 1-7, Oregon-Davis 0-8