Three Hawks named elite

Despite falling just short of the state tournament, Mid-Prairie softball was among the leaders in the conference when postseason recognitions were announced.

Three Golden Hawks were named to the River Valley Conference Elite Team, which is composed of athletes from both the north and south divisions.

Amber Kral finished the season at the state leader in RBIs, posting 71 in 35 games, en route to being named to the RVC Elite Team.

Kral batted .455 in her junior season, getting on base at a clip of .528 and swatting 12 homeruns.

In the circle, junior Emma Troyer earned Elite team honors, posting a 12-6 record for the season, and a perfect 10-0 record in conference action.

Troyer finished the year with a 3.25 ERA in 105 2/3 innings, striking out 78 over that span. She also posted a WHIP of 1.30 on the year.

The junior pitcher also had a strong year at the plate, finishing the year with a .429 on-base percentage, batting .368 and knocking in 23 RBIs.

The other member of the Hawks who was named to the Elite team was senior outfielder Lexi Duwa.

Duwa got on base at a clip of .551 this year from the second spot in the batting order, batting .486.

Duwa led the team with 30 stolen bases, only being caught stealing once, and finished the season with 54 hits, 36 runs and 13 RBIs.

After the Elite teams were selected, each division announced its all-division teams, with three more Hawks earning recognition.

After a strong year at the top of the order, junior shortstop Alex Rath earned a spot on the team.

Rath batted .540 on the season, getting on base at a clip of .620, and led the team with 50 runs scored and 61 hits.

Rath also knocked in 22 RBIs, was a perfect 20-for-20 in stolen bases and led the team with four triples.

Senior second baseman Chelsea Kral earned a spot on the South Division team, after earning 23 RBIs on the season.

Chelsea batted .301 on the year, getting on-base at a clip of .363, and scoring 15 runs.

Taylor Kurtz earned a nomination on the South Division team, after batting .292 on the year and swatting five homeruns.

Battling injury this season, the senior also pitched 86 innings, posting an ERA of 2.60 and striking out 35 batters as she went 8-6.

Rounding out the All-Conference nominations was senior outfielder Ashley Sojka, who earned honorable mention honors.

Sojka batted .273 with an on-base percentage of .308, scoring 13 runs and picking up 16 RBIs.

In the field, Sojka was perfect defensively, not committing an error in 37 chances and she earned a win in the circle for the Hawks.