All-State softballers announced

After putting together stellar seasons, it shouldn?t be a surprise to see Highland and Mid-Prairie well represented on the softball All-State teams, which were released on Thursday morning.

Both Mid-Prairie and Highland fell in the regional semifinals to teams that eventually won the state title (Solon) and took fifth place (Durant) at the state tournament.

As an offensive powerhouse this season, Mid-Prairie had four athletes named to the All-State teams, and three of them will be returning to the diamond next season.

Juniors Alex Rath and Amber Kral were each named Class 3A All-State first team after putting together strong offensive seasons.

The pair are joined by senior Lexi Duwa, who earned a second-team slot, and junior Emma Troyer, who was honored with a third-team selection.

Rath finished the year sixth in Class 3A with a .540 batting average (on-base percentage of .620, good for third in Class 3A), while stealing 20 bases from the top of the order for the Hawks.

Rath scored 50 runs for Mid-Prairie this season, while driving in 22 runs and drawing 21 walks. She also led the team with four triples and had six doubles on the season.

Kral finished third in the state, regardless of class, with 71 RBIs this season. The two who finished in front of Kral had 73 and 75, and both played in 10 more games.

Kral swatted 12 homeruns on the season while batting .486 on the year, including an on-base percentage of .528 and scored 38 runs.

Kral was effective at putting the ball in play as well, by only striking out 11 times in 110 at-bats.

Duwa was strong from the second spot in the order for Mid-Prairie, batting .486 with an on-base percentage of .551.

Despite not having an extra-base hit on the year, Duwa drew 16 walks and stole 30 bases for the Hawks, collecting 54 hits on the season and scoring 36 runs.

Troyer had a nice year with the bat for Mid-Prairie, batting .386 with an on-base percentage of .429 and 23 RBIs, but made a big impact in the circle for the Hawks.

The Junior posted a record of 12-6, going 10-0 in conference play, as a pitcher, finishing the season with a 3.25 ERA.

The left-handed Troyer struck out 78 batters on the year in 105 2/3 innings pitched.

Highland had three athletes selected to Class 2A All-State teams.

The lone first-team selection came to Huskie sophomore Kelsey Hora, while senior Katie Springer and junior Cheyann Adamson each garnered second-team selection.

Hora had a tremendous year at the plate, batting .505 with an on-base percentage of .557.

She led the team with 43 runs scored, 48 hits, and she stole 48 bases in 50 attempts.

Springer was stellar from the circle again this season, posting a 1.13 ERA in 155 innings pitched. She struck out 165 batters from the circle, en route to a 21-5 record, and held opposing hitters to a .179 average.

In Adamson?s All-State season, she batted .413 with an on-base percentage of .465.

The junior scored 25 runs and knocked in 22 RBIs, and stole nine bases on the season. Adamson finished second on the team in hits with 38.