Region 11's Best Division II Softball Selected for 2024 Postseason Honors

May 8, 2024

The 2024 All-Region Division II Softball teams were announced on Wednesday, including special awards such as Offensive Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year.

Pitcher of the Year went to DMACC's Courtney Donahue. The ace for the Bears was nothing short of spectacular this season. In 14 games started, she went 12-2 with an ERA of 0.70. Ten of those 12 wins were complete games and she shutout seven teams this season. In all of those categories, Donahue ranked first in the conference in all of them. She also was first in strikeouts (176) and WHIP (0.54), in 79.2 innings pitched in conference play.

NIACC's Katy Olive was named Offensive Player of the Year. Olive was a number of tools when she was up at the plate. She ranked first in the conference in home runs with 16, total bases with 109, 50 runs, and 49 hits. Not to mention, Olive stole 31 bases in conference play, and only got caught three times. Her production with the bat led to her .490 batting average and 1.090 slugging percentage.

Defensive Player of the Year was earned by Rachael Schlotter. The Kirkwood infielder committed just three errors in conference play, leading to a .956 fielding percentage. Schlotter had 25 putouts and 40 assists on 68 total chances as well. In the entire season, Schlotter was a part of 10 double plays, three of which came in conference games.

Two catchers received the honor of First Team All-Region; Aleena Sandy of Iowa Central and Madisyn Kelley of NIACC. Sandy had 26 hits on the year in conference play, including nine home runs. Behind the plate she committed just three errors and made 106 putouts.

Kelley led the league in batting average (.521), on-base percentage (.644), and slugging percentage (1.151). She drove home 42 runners, while collecting 38 hits as well.

Three other pitchers were named First Teamers in addition to DMACC's Donahue.

Peyton Driscoll of Kirkwood was 5-1 in seven starts with a 1.88 ERA which ranked third in the conference. Driscoll struck out 55 batters, allowed just 11 earned runs, and finished three complete games.

Jenna Sprague averaged 8.36 K's per game and went 6-1 with five saves in 11 appearances. Sprague's ERA was 1.48 and had only allowed three home runs in conference games.

Finally, NIACC's Izzy Sloan struck out 92 hitters and committed 10 complete games and four shutouts. Sloan in 68.1 innings allowed 21 earned runs and had a batting average against marked at .205.

Hilary Wilson (DMACC), Sydney Roe (Kirkwood), and Emily Jones (NIACC) were the three other infielders on the First Team, as Schlotter and Olive were previously mentioned.

Wilson in 28 conference games had 11 home runs and 48 RBI. While adding 46 hits to her total, she has also only struck out four times.

Roe hit .436 at the plate with a conference-leading 54 runs batted in. She had 41 hits including eight doubles and 14 home runs.

Jones on the defensive end was a machine. Out of her 130 chances, she committed zero errors, turned four double plays, and had a fielding percentage of 1.000. At the plate she captured 10 home runs and 11 doubles.

There were five outfielders honored with First Team selections: Kelsey Palmer (DMACC), Elle Nelsen (DMACC), Maddy Harding (Ellsworth), Peyton Johnson (Kirkwood), and Brenna Ross (Kirkwood).

Palmer had an average of .471 at the dish and .507 on-base percentage. In 85 plate appearances she had 32 hits and five walks. She also leads the conference in sacrifice hits with 10.

With nine home runs and 41 hits, Nelsen had her way at the plate. Though she can use the bat, she also had 10 walks and 13 stolen bases.

Harding ranked first in triples with four, but also has some power with 10 doubles and five home runs. Harding has 74 total bases to her name along with 24 runs batted in.

Johnson in 28 conference games is hitting .448 with a .519 on-base percentage. While ranking ninth in both RBI (33) and total bases (73), Johnson also had eight home runs.

Ross totaled 39 hits and 33 runs this season. On defense, Ross has made 25 putouts on 26 total chances, and had a perfect fielding percentage.

Josie McCuddin of DMACC ranked inside the top three in the conference with 11 doubles. In her 27 conference games, McCuddin batted .429 with 36 hits, and 25 RBI. McCuddin was named the only First Team All-Region Designated Player.

Kirkwood's Sailor Hall was the lone Utility specialist on the First Team. In the circle, Hall threw 36.1 innings, allowing 19 earned runs. Despite the run total she went 6-0 in her nine appearances with 25 strikeouts. At the plate she batted .465 with 15 doubles, and 44 RBI, all ranking inside the top five in the respected categories.

The Coach of the Year award was awarded to Eric Frese of Kirkwood after their great year. Frese led the Eagles to a 49-12 overall record, and 26-2 in conference play. They at one point had a 25-game winning streak through months of March and April. The Eagles also have won back-to-back regular season titles, along with nine-straight Region 11 Tournament titles.

Note: All statistics were from conference games unless denoted otherwise.

First Team
#	POS	Names	School	Yr.
2	C	Aleena Sandy	Iowa Central	So.
20	C	Madisyn Kelley	NIACC	So.
10	P	Courtney Donahue	DMACC	So.
16	P	Peyton Driscoll	Kirkwood	Fr.
14	P	Jenna Sprague**	Kirkwood	So.
44	P	Izzy Sloan	NIACC	Fr.
15	INF	Hilary Wilson	DMACC	Fr
28	INF	Elle Nelsen**	DMACC	So.
21	INF	Rachael Schlotter	Kirkwood	Fr.
17	INF	Sydney Roe	Kirkwood	So.
2	INF	Katy Olive	NIACC	So.
11	INF	Emily Jones	NIACC	So.
18	OF	Kelsey Palmer	DMACC	So.
4	OF	Maddy Harding	Ellsworth	So.
22	OF	Peyton Johnson	Kirkwood	Fr.
1	OF	Brenna Ross	Kirkwood	Fr.
7	DP	Josie McCuddin	DMACC	Fr
4	UTL	Sailor Hall	Kirkwood	So.

Second Team
#	POS	Names	School	Yr.
2	C	Ceara Swanson	DMACC	So.
15	C	Sophia Kreutner	Kirkwood	Fr.
12	P	Kinsley Robertson	DMACC	So.
12	P	Angelica Agro	Ellsworth	Fr.
11	P	Peyton Paulsen	Kirkwood	Fr.
20	INF	Delaney Milanowski	DMACC	Fr.
8	INF	Elli Han	Ellsworth	So.
25	INF	Kennedy Palmer	Iowa Central	Fr.
3	INF	Breanna Nolte	Iowa Central	Fr.
20	INF	Lexi Hines	Kirkwood	So.
8	OF	Breanna Caffery	DMACC	Fr
6	OF	Alexis Hansen	Iowa Central	So.
20	OF	Morgan Weeks	Iowa Central	So.
8	OF	Myla Murphy	Iowa Lakes	Fr.
11	DP	Gabriella Taber	Iowa Central	So.
22	UTL	Jayda Long	Iowa Central	Fr.

Honorable Mention
#	POS	Names	School	Yr.
24	C	Kyleia Salyars	DMACC	Fr
18	C	Abby Burgess	Iowa Lakes	Fr.
23	POS	Emma Hoyle	Iowa Central	Fr.
29	POS	Abagail Winter	Iowa Central	Fr.
17	POS	Macy Kellar	NIACC	Fr.
11	INF	Taryn Petty	Ellsworth	Fr.
21	INF	Kaylee Cary	Iowa Central	Fr.
5	INF	Taylor Larson	Iowa Lakes	Fr.
3	INF	Alayna Leighton	Iowa Lakes	Fr.
18	INF	Kiya Johnson	Kirkwood	Fr.
5	INF	Maddy Bauer	NIACC	Fr.
35	OF	Hannah Ironside	DMACC	So.
13	OF	Kisha Reed	Hawkeye	Fr.
8	OF	Calli Schell	Iowa Central	So.
4	OF	Talia Bandt	Northeast	Fr.
13	DP	Delia Schwartz	Kirkwood	So.
21	UTL	Campbell Kelley	DMACC	So.
2	UTL	Emma Gordon	Ellsworth	So.

*At-Large Selections

Defensive Player of the Year: Rachael Schlotter, Kirkwood
Offensive Player of the Year: Katy Olive, NIACC
Pitcher of the Year: Courtney Donahue, DMACC
Coach of the Year: Eric Frese, Kirkwood