Area players earn IGCA softball district, academic honors

Six area high school softball players earned all-district honors in their respective classifications for the 2018 season. The Iowa Girls Coaches Association released its 2018 All-District softball teams on Saturday.

Newton High juniors Emily Valtman and Peyton Maher were named to the IGCA 2018 Class 4A Southeast District team.

The 10th-ranked Cardinals are headed to this week’s 4A state softball tournament in Fort Dodge.

Colfax-Mingo seniors Ries Wilson and Rhiannon Haley and junior Colbee Cunningham are on the 2A Southeast District team. Lynnville-Sully sophomore Mallory Loftus was named to the 1A South Central District squad.

The IGCA also announced its 2018 All-State Academic Team with Newton seniors Kennedy and Karley Leiker on the elite all-class team. Kennedy plays catcher for the Cardinals and Karley is the team’s starting center fielder.

Valtman leads Newton in almost every offensive category and has a .948 fielding percentage as the Cardinals’ shortstop. She’s only had five errors in 31 games for Newton.

Valtman has a .512 batting average, which is eighth in Class 4A, and boasts a .964 slugging percentage, which is fourth best in 4A. She has 43 hits, and leads Newton with seven home runs, 35 runs scored and 20 RBIs. Valtman has four triples and nine doubles.

Maher is tied for second in 4A with a 0.91 Earned Run Average as Newton’s top pitcher with a 13-3 record in the circle. She has 136 strikeouts with 74 hits allowed and 24 runs — only 14 earned — in 108 innings of work. She has issued 32 walks and hit five batters.

Maher also contributes at the plate with a .375 average. She is one of four Newton players with nine doubles this season. She has 24 hits and 16 RBIs.

For Colfax-Mingo’s Tigerhawks, Wilson leads the team with a .417 batting average and 48 hits. She is 17-of-19 in stolen base attempts. Wilson had eight doubles, one triple and three home runs for the season. She drove in 16 runs and scored 30.

Haley led the Tigerhawks with four home runs and 14 doubles, which is tied for seventh in 2A. Haley batted .396 on the season with 42 hits, drove in 26 runs and scored 39 runs.

Cunningham went 16-8 in the circle for the Tigerhawks with a 2.09 ERA in 150 2/3 innings of work. She allowed 122 hits, 62 runs and walked 70. Her 172 strikeouts put her ninth in that category among 2A pitchers.

Cunningham also led Colfax-Mingo in RBIs with 31. She hit .298 with 34 hits, nine doubles and two home runs. She scored 20 runs.

Loftus paced the Lynnville-Sully Hawks with a .422 batting average. She had 49 hits and 44 runs scored. She hit eight doubles and had five RBIs. Loftus finished fourth in 1A in stolen base attempts, going 47-of-49.

Colfax-Mingo and Lynnville-Sully are both South Iowa Cedar League conference teams and each finished 19-15 for the season.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535
or jsheets@newtondailynews.com