All-state, all-district honors go to area softball players

Five area girls garnered 2019 All-State and All-District softball honors from the Iowa Girls Coaches Association. The all-state and all-district teams were announced recently following the conclusion of the 2019 state softball tournaments.

Colfax-Mingo senior Rilee Slycord was named to the IGCA 2019 Class 2A all-state first team. Her teammate senior Colbee Cunningham earned 2A all-state second team honors. Both were named to the 2A Southeast District team.

Newton High senior pitcher Peyton Maher received IGCA 2019 Class 4A all-state second team honors. She was named to the 4A Southeast District team.

Lynnville-Sully senior Carson Fisk and junior Mallory Loftus garnered IGCA 2019 Class 1A all-state third team recognition. They were named to the 1A South Central District softball team and Lynnville-Sully head coach Stacey Alberts was named the South Central District Coach of the Year.

Alberts guided the Hawks to a 27-9 season which included a South Iowa Cedar League conference title, a 1A regional championship and a return to the Class 1A state softball tournament after a three-year absence. The Hawks went 1-1 at the 2019 1A state tournament at Fort Dodge.

Slycord finished with a team-high 12 home runs which tied her for fourth in the category in Class 2A. The Tigerhawk third baseman had a slugging percentage of .970 and led her team with a .485 batting average. She finished 11th in Class 2A with 44 RBIs.

Slycord had 48 hits and 12 doubles for the season. She scored a team-high 35 runs.

Cunningham posted a 22-7 mark in the circle as the Tigerhawks went 22-8 for the season finishing second in the SICL. She had an Earned Run Average of 1.91. She struck out 192 batters, which was 10th best in 2A, in 176 1/3 innings and opponents hit only .186 against her.

Cunningham allowed 133 hits and 66 runs— 48 earned. She also issued 52 walks. Defensively, her fielding percentage was .930.

At the plate, Cunningham hit .435, which was second best on the team. She had 46 hits, seven doubles and seven home runs. She drove in 31 runs and scored 32.

Maher went 16-10 as Newton’s main pitcher as the Cardinals were 18-16 for the season. She racked up a team-high and personal-best 205 strikeouts, which was ninth among Class 4A pitchers in 2019. Her 1.11 ERA was fourth best in 4A.

Maher gave up 88 runs and 128 hits and issued 44 walks. She finished with a 653 strikeouts for her five-year Newton career. Maher was a All-Little Hawkeye Conference second-team selection as a pitcher, leading the conference in strikeouts and opponent batting average.

At the plate, Maher had a .419 batting average for the season with 45 hits and12 doubles. She drove in 27 runs and scored eight runs.

Fisk and Loftus patrolled the left side of the infield for Lynnville-Sully with Loftus at third base and Fisk at shortstop. Fisk finished with a .958 fielding average with five errors while Loftus made 12 errors at the hot corner with a .852 fielding average.

Fisk led the Hawks with 39 runs scored and a .585 slugging average. She had three of the team’s four home runs for the season, hit 11 doubles and had 39 hits. She scored a team-high 39 runs and had 16 RBIs.

Fisk was second with a .386 batting average but was the team-leader in on-base percentage at .407. Fisk was 23-of-26 stolen base attempts.

Leading the Hawks and finishing 17th in Class 1A on stolen base attempts was Loftus. She was 30-of-33. Loftus led the Hawks with a .391 batting average and 45 hits. She had four doubles, 20 RBIs and scored 30 runs.

Loftus’ first career home run was a two-run shot in the 1A state consolation game which Lynnville-Sully rallied to win 5-4 over Gehlen Catholic. She had a slugging average of .425 and an on-base percentage of .407.

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