Seven area athletes earn all-district softball honors

Seven area softball prep athletes earned all-district honors recently after stellar seasons on the diamond.

In Class 1A, Colfax-Mingo’s Amy Russell and Ries Wilson and Lynnville-Sully’s Brenna Lanser were all honored in the Class 1A South Central District, while Collins-Maxwell/Baxter senior Abbey Kahler and freshman Mikayla Houge landed on the 2A Northeast District team.

CMB’s Troy Houge was named Northeast District Coach of the Year.

Prairie City-Monroe’s Jayci Vos and Kayla Jennings were honored on the 3A Central District team.

Russell impacted the Tigerhawks’ state-tournament season both at the plate and in the circle.

At the plate, Russell led 1A with 17 home runs and 66 RBIs. She also ranked fourth with a .535 batting average and ranked fourth with 16 doubles. Russell, who will attend Ellsworth Community College next season, had on base percentage of .587, and she scored 45 runs.

In the circle, Russell shared time with sophomore Colbee Cunningham but still finished 17-5 with an earned run average of 3.02. She struck out 159 batters in 141 1/3 innings pitched.

Russell also was selected to play in the annual All-Star Series, which will be played on Monday in Waukee. Russell will play two games for the blue squad at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Wilson got better as the season progressed. She wound up with a batting average of .417, ranked fifth with 53 runs scored and ranked seventh with 15 doubles. Wilson homered four times, drove in 20 runs and stole 18 bases.

Colfax-Mingo finished 26-13 this season and played in its first state tournament in 16 years.

Lanser collected four home runs and had 27 RBIs. She batted .363, scored 25 runs, cranked out 10 doubles and stole 15 bases. Lynnville-Sully finished its season at 18-12.

Three Raiders earned all-district honors.

Coach Houge was named district coach of the year after guiding the Raiders to their second straight Heart of Iowa Conference title. CMB (26-6) spent every week in the 2A rankings and was ranked No. 1 to start and end the season.

Houge’s oldest daughter, Mikayla, was one of the best pitchers in 2A this season. Mikayla Houge was the only pitcher in 2A with more than 10 starts to go undefeated in the circle. She finished 15-0 with an ERA of 0.97, which ranked third in 2A. Houge also struck out 148 batters in 94 innings.

Mikayla Houge was the Raiders’ top hitter, finishing with an average of .421. She finished with two home runs, 27 RBIs and 11 doubles.

Kahler, who will play for Wartburg College next season, got off to a slow start at the plate but picked it up as CMB closed in on another HOIC title. She finished with a .337 batting average, three home runs and 32 RBIs.

In the circle, Kahler finished 10-6 with an ERA of 2.06. She struck out 137 batters in 97 1/3 innings pitched.

PCM bounced back with an impressive 2017 season. The Mustangs finished tied for second in the HOIC and played one of the toughest schedules in 3A.

Vos and Jennings were at the forefront of the season. And both will play for the DMACC Bears next season.

Vos led the Mustangs (17-13) at the plate with a batting average of .472. She scored 39 runs, stole 18 bases and had 18 RBIs. Her on base percentage was .521.

Jennings was the second-best hitter for the Mustangs with an average of .416. She scored 15 runs and hit two home runs with 22 RBIs.

Jennings was the team’s No. 1 pitcher, too. She was 13-9 on the season with an ERA of 1.87. She struck out 139 batters in 142 1/3 innings pitched.