Trojan, two Panthers named to All-GTNS softball squad

Youth was served on the All-Golden Triangle News Service softball team this year. Only two seniors were selected to the 13-player roster.

New London?s Bria Mears is one of those two seniors. She was selected as a utility player for her efforts on the mound and at the plate this season.

The Tiger pitcher had a 1.66 earned run average this summer, putting her in the top 20 in Class 1A pitchers in that statistic. She also struck out 107 batters and finished the year with 17 wins. Mears threw three consecutive shutouts in postseason play before the Tigers lost to Bellevue Marquette in the regional final.

Mears went 5-for-12 at the plate in New London?s four postseason games with two doubles and three RBIs. For the season, she led the Tigers at the plate with a .371 batting average, 483 slugging percentage and .443 on-base percentage. She hit one homer, a team-high eight doubles and drove in 26 runs.

The New London graduate made the school record board in many categories this year and in her career, as she holds the school record in career doubles (50) and career wins (96). She is a five-time first team all-conference player, a four-time all-district pick, and this season she was named to the Iowa Girls Coaches Association all-state third team for her fifth all-state nod.

Washington?s Lauren Vittetoe is the only other senior on this year?s All-GTNS squad. She was the lone senior for the Demons as they made their run to the state tournament this summer, where Washington finished fourth in Class 4A and Vittetoe was named to the all-tournament team.

Vittetoe batted .407 this season with four home runs. The Demons? cleanup hitter ranked third in Class 4A in RBIs (54) and fifth in doubles (18). A first baseman, Vittetoe had a fielding percentage of .986 this season to lead the Demons. She was a first team All-Southeast Conference selection, an all-district selection and a second team all-state selection this year.

Vittetoe was one of five Washington players selected to this year?s All-GTNS team. Junior Maddie Bohr, who was a first team all-state selection and the SEC?s Player of the Year this summer, was named the captain of the All-GTNS squad.

The Demons? second baseman and lead-off hitter batted a team-best .477 this season, and her on-base percentage of .589 ranked seventh in Class 4A. Bohr also had one home run, six doubles and three triples, and she drove in 15 runs while scoring 56 times.

Sophomore Ashley Rausch had a lot to do with Washington?s postseason run, which finished in Fort Dodge. The Demons? ace limited No. 8 North Scott to just one run in the regional final, and then held a good-hitting Carlisle squad to just two runs in the state quarterfinals, becoming the first pitcher in school history to win a game at the state tournament. Rausch finished the year with a 20-6 record and a 1.83 ERA. She struck out 115 batters in 168 2/3 innings and opposing batters hit just .194 against her. Rausch also earned first team all-conference and third team all-state accolades.

The person catching Rausch?s pitches all season, Kaitlin Buchholz, joins her on the All-GTNS squad. The junior backstop batted .414 this season with three home runs, five triples, 17 doubles and 48 RBIs. She also did an outstanding job behind the plate, throwing out five runners and making some amazing catches near the fence. For her efforts, she earned first team all-conference and second team all-state honors.

Stephanie Fishback had one of the biggest hits of the season this year for the Demons. After North Scott scored in the top of the fourth inning to tie the regional final 1-1, the speedy sophomore hit a two-run inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the inning to put Washington back in front. It was Fishback?s first career homer, inside-the-park or otherwise, and the Demons went on to win 4-1 to earn their first trip to state since 1997.

Fishback, who was a first team all-conference selection, batted .472 this season, the second-best average on the squad behind Bohr. She legged out seven triples, which ranked second in Class 4A. Fishback also had 13 doubles, and her slugging percentage of .709 led the Demons. The left fielder also made just one error in left field all season.

After guiding the Demons to the state tournament for the first time since 1997 and for the first time in her 13 seasons as head coach, Angie Shrader was selected as the All-GTNS Coach of the Year. Shrader?s squad went 12-4 in SEC play and won a conference championship for the first time in school history. Then, once the Demons got to Fort Dodge, they picked up their first state tournament win in school history. Washington?s only other trip to state was in 1997, and the Demons lost all three of their games that year. A year after finishing with a 20-17 record, the Demons had a breakout year and went 32-10.

The only other team in the area to reach the state tournament, Mid-Prairie, had a pair of All-GTNS selections. The Golden Hawks finished sixth in Class 3A with a 31-13 record.

Mid-Prairie ace pitcher Olivia Lugar was a big reason the Golden Hawks made their third-straight trip to Fort Dodge. The junior right-hander limited Williamsburg to one run on five hits in a 5-1 victory over the Raiders in the regional quarterfinals, and then threw a three-hit shutout in a 9-0 win over PCM. She surrendered five runs in the second inning of the regional final, but then held eighth-ranked Clarke to just one run the rest of the way as Mid-Prairie rallied for a 12-6 win and a trip to state.

Lugar, who now owns a career postseason record of 17-5, compiled a record of 24-10 this season with a 2.00 ERA. She struck out 155 batters in 196 1/3 innings and opposing batters hit just .249 against her. She was a second team all-state selection.

While Lugar provided the pitching, teammate Mallory McArtor provided the offensive punch. The junior shortstop led the Golden Hawks in batting average (.453), slugging percentage (.713), RBIs (46), runs scored (40), triples (6) and stolen bases (15) this season. She also had 68 hits, which ranked sixth in Class 3A, and she was a first team all-state selection.

Mount Pleasant, which finished 15-25 this season, had a pair of players selected to the All-GTNS squad.

Shortstop Sammi Goble led the Panthers with a team-high batting average of .433 and slugging percentage of .679 this season, numbers that were good enough for fourth overall in the Southeast Conference. She led Class 4A in triples with nine, and her 58 hits tied her for first in the SEC with Bohr. She also earned a first team all-conference nod this year.

Teammate Leslie Taylor joins Goble on the All-GTNS team. The sophomore outfielder, who was coming off a track and field season in which she won three events at the state meet, used her speed to lead the SEC with 27 stolen bases. She was also a solid lead-off hitter, leading the Panthers with a .470 on-base percentage. Taylor, who makes the All-GTNS team for the second-straight year, was also a first team all-conference selection.

Another SEC player to be selected to the All-GTNS team is Fairfield sophomore Sydney Burnett. She makes her first appearance on the squad thanks to impermeable defense in center field as well as her knack for getting on base. Like any good lead-off hitter, Burnett?s patient approach at the plate resulted in team highs in on-base percentage (.420) and runs (36), but she also led the Trojans in fielding percentage (.984) to earn the team?s Gold Glove Award for the second year running. Burnett was also a first team all-conference selection.

Pekin?s Cheyann Lankford and Leslie Stone round out the All-GTNS roster.

The Panthers had little trouble scoring runs this season ? averaging more than nine per contest ? and a big reason why was Lankford, their speedy shortstop. The junior tablesetter had a historic season as she set two new school records, scoring 63 runs and hitting at a .470 clip. Additionally, Lankford led the Panthers in stolen bases (23) and on-base percentage (.545), and she struck out just five times in 115 at-bats.

Lankford couldn?t have broken the school?s run record without help, and she got a lot of it from Stone, the team?s two-hole hitter. Stone earned a utility spot on the All-GTNS squad after batting .455 with 45 RBIs and six homers. The junior also shouldered the load as Pekin?s ace pitcher. Stone made all but one of Pekin?s starts, throwing 173 2/3 innings and finishing with a 20-11 record. Both Lankford and Stone earned first team all-conference honors, and Lankford was named to the all-district team.

With just two seniors graduating from the All-GTNS team, the area has a number of outstanding softball players returning for what should be an exciting summer next year.

The 2012 All-GTNS softball team was selected by Travis Brown of the Washington Evening Journal, Ashlee De Wit of the Mt. Pleasant News and Michael Leach of The Fairfield Ledger.