Softball

Taylor Michaelson, a freshman outfielder from Sioux City, overcame a slow start to her rookie campaign to lead the Morningside College softball team in hitting during the 2012 campaign.

Michaelson collected a team-high 56 hits in 145 at-bats for a .386 batting average to win the team’s batting crown by over a 40-point margin. Aside from leading the Mustangs in hitting, Michaelson was the team’s co-leader with two triples and a .426 on-base percentage. Her statistics also included two doubles, one home run, eight RBIs, and 23 runs scored.

Michaelson began the season with only five hits in 30 at-bats for a .167 batting average through her first 11 games as a collegian before she caught fire by hitting .443 over her final 35 contests.

The Mustangs’ top power hitter and run producer was Kati Steffen, a sophomore first baseman from Moville, Iowa, who batted .345 with eight doubles and a team-high 11 home runs and 43 RBIs. Steffen also paced the Mustangs with a .622 slugging percentage. Her 11 home runs represented the sixth highest single-season total in Morningside history.

Kirsten Dargy, a junior outfielder from Omaha, Neb., topped the Mustangs with 13 doubles and 32 runs scored and was their co-leader with two triples. Dargy batted .335 with five home runs and 25 RBIs. She has blasted 31 home runs over the past three seasons to move within striking distance of the Morningside school record of 37 career home runs set by Mindi Prince from 1994-97.

Morningside had two other .300 hitters in its lineup with Jordan Johnson, a sophomore pitcher-outfielder from Sioux City, who hit .312 with six doubles, one triple, four home runs, and 17 RBIs; and Courtney Vaughn, a senior third baseman from Fort Dodge, Iowa, who hit .302 with nine doubles, one triple, six home runs, and 28 RBIs.

Mackenzie Neely, a junior catcher from Roland, Iowa, led the Mustangs with 24 base on balls for the seventh highest single-season walk total in Morningside history. Neely hit .295 with four doubles, three home runs, and 26 RBIs and was the Mustangs’ co-leader with a .426 on-base percentage.

The Mustangs’ other offensive leaders were Shelby Feldt, a junior outfielder from Monroe, Iowa, who topped the team with 11 stolen bases; and Emily Wassom, a senior shortstop from Spencer, Iowa, who paced the Mustangs with 14 sacrifices.

Aside from contributing a .312 batting average to the Mustangs’ offensive attack, Johnson was the ace of the Mustangs’ pitching staff. Johnson led the Mustangs’ hurlers in victories and earned run average by posting a 16-9 record with a 2.57 ERA. She also led the team with seven shutouts, 163.1 innings pitched, 100 strikeouts, and 18 complete games.

Morningside posted a 28-21 record during the 2012 season and won the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) post-season tournament en route to its fourth consecutive appearance in the NAIA Softball National Championship tournament.

Morningside finished with a 0-3 record in pool play at the NAIA Softball National Championship tournament after it was blanked 9-0 in five innings by 22nd-ranked Reinhardt University on Saturday in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Reinhardt put the Mustangs away early by scoring all nine of its runs in the first two innings.

The Mustangs, who lost by 8-0 scores against fourth-ranked Central Baptist College and 13th-ranked Lee University earlier in the tournament, finished the season with a record of 28-21.

Morningside threatened in the top of the first inning when Kirsten Dargy led off the game with a double, but the Mustangs left her stranded at second base.

Reinhardt put together an immediate threat in the bottom of the first inning when Nikki Roddy and Lindsey Booker opened the inning with singles and Andrea Thibaudeau walked to load the bases with no outs. Mustang pitcher Jordan Johnson struck out Lady Eagle cleanup hitter Ashley Kennedy for the first out, but Haley Brannon followed with a single to center that plated Roddy with the game’s first run. The Lady Eagles then made it 3-0 when Haley Williams delivered a two-run single to bring home Booker and Thibaudeau.

The Lady Eagles broke the game open with six unearned runs in the bottom of the second inning to go up 9-0. Morningside made two errors in the inning, while Bailey Arnaud provided the big hit with a two-run triple.

Aside from Dargy’s first inning double, the Mustangs had three other hits against Reinhardt’s Maddie Monroe. The Mustangs’ other hits were singles by Taylor Michaelson, Jordan Johnson, and Emma Remy.

Michaelson hit safely in all three of the Mustangs’ national tournament contests and supplied four of the Mustangs’ nine hits in the three games.

Monroe, who tossed her 17th shutout of the season, walked one and struck out three while running her season’s record to 22-8.

Courtney Vaughn has been named 2012 Daktronics-NAIA Softball Scholar-Athlete.

Vaughn, a senior third baseman from Fort Dodge, Iowa, has a 3.68 cumulative grade point average (GPA) with a major in elementary education.

Vaughn batted .302 with nine doubles, one triple, six home runs, and 28 RBIs this season to help lead the Mustangs to the Great Plains Athletic Conference Post-Season Tournament championship and a fourth consecutive appearance in the NAIA Softball National Championship tournament.

Student-athletes must be of at least junior academic status and have a minimum GPA of 3.50 in order to be eligible for Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.

Click here for the complete list of 2012 Daktronics-NAIA Softball Scholar-Athletes.

Morningside’s chances of advancing beyond the pool play portion of the NAIA Softball National Championship tournament were dashed when the Mustangs suffered an 8-0 loss in five innings against Lee University on Friday in Gulf Shores, Ala.

The loss dropped the Mustangs’ record to 0-2 heading into their pool play finale on Saturday when they will face Reinhardt University at 11:30 a.m.

Lee put the game away early when it plated five runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Flames had five hits in the inning, including a two-run bunt single by Tabitha Farrow.

Lee scored again in the third inning and then scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning on consecutive doubles by Charlie Wooden, Dezirae Parsons, and Farrow to end the game by the eight-run rule.

Winning pitcher Brittany Balough twirled a two-hit shutout to improve her record to 25-3. She struck out four and didn’t walk a batter.

Both of Morningside’s hits came off the bat of freshman outfielder Taylor Michaelson, who extended her hitting streak to six games with a first inning single and a fourth inning leadoff triple.

Morningside will take a 28-20 record into Saturday’s season finale against Reinhardt.

Morningside dropped its pool play opener with an 8-0 six-inning setback against fourth-ranked Central Baptist College during Thursday’s opening day of the NAIA Softball National Championship tournament in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Jessica Bock, a second-team All-American last season, pitched a three-hit shutout with two walks and nine strikeouts in the abbreviated contest. Bock, who improved her season’s record to 27-3, was backed by 11 hits of offensive support from her teammates, including five extra base blows.

Central Baptist capitalized on a pair of Morningside errors to grab a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Leadoff batter Kiara Bonner reached safely on an error by the second baseman and advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt by the Mustangs’ catcher. Jordan Johnson almost pitched her way out of the jam when she struck out Erica Gunter, who entered the game as the nation’s leading hitter with a .527 batting average, and then retired returning first-team All-American Christen Kirchner on an infield popup. However, Jessica Tickle delivered a two-out single to right field that brought home Bonner with the game’s first run.

Morningside threatened in the top of the second inning when Johnson laced a two-out triple down the right field line before she was left stranded. After Johnson’s second inning triple, Bock didn’t allow another hit until Taylor Michaelson and Courtney Vaughn had back-to-back singles with one out in the sixth inning.

Central Baptist expanded its lead to 4-0 when it scored three more runs in the bottom of the second. The inning started harmlessly enough when Johnson fanned the first batter before a one-out walk to Tracy Ratliff started the action. Three of the next four batters singled, including a two-run single by Kirchner, while the other run came home on a sacrifice fly by Gunter.

Central Baptist struck for three more runs in the fifth inning on a two-run double by Samantha Luther and a run scoring double by Ratliff.

The Lady Mustangs ended the game by the eight-run rule on a RBI single by Natalye Chudy with one out in the bottom of the sixth.

Johnson (16-8) allowed 11 hits against a Central Baptist team that entered the tournament with an impressive .401 team batting average. She walked four and struck out two.

Central Baptist climbed to 51-5 on the season. Morningside (28-19) will face 13th-ranked Lee University on Friday at 2 p.m. Morningside defeated the Flames 4-3 earlier this season on March 10 at the Gulf Shores Invitational.

Courtney Vaughn was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Southwest Region First-Team and was joined by four Mustang teammates on the all-region second-team.

Vaughn, a senior third baseman from Fort Dodge, Iowa, has a .312 batting average with nine doubles, one triple, six home runs, and 28 RBIs.

The Mustangs’ second-team all-region selections are Kirsten Dargy, Taylor Michaelson, Mackenzie Neely, and Kati Steffen.

Dargy, a junior outfielder-designated hitter from Omaha, Neb., has a .346 batting average with a team-high 12 doubles and two triples to go along with five home runs and 25 RBIs.

Michaelson, a freshman outfielder from Sioux City, is the Mustangs’ leading hitter with a .380 batting average. She has two doubles, one triple, one home run, and eight RBIs.

Neely, a junior catcher from Roland, Iowa, has a .316 batting average with four doubles, three home runs, and 26 RBIs.

Steffen, a sophomore first baseman from Moville, Iowa, has a .362 batting average with eight doubles and a team-high 11 home runs and 43 RBIs.

Morningside took a 28-18 record into the NAIA Softball National Championship tournament in Gulf Shores, Ala., after it qualified as the winner of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Tournament.

Click here for the complete NFCA All-Southwest Region Team.

Morningside College placed four players on the 2012 All-Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Softball First Team as selected by the league’s head coaches.

The first-team all-conference performers for the NAIA National Tournament bound Mustangs are Kirsten Dargy, junior designated player from Omaha, Neb.; Mackenzie Neely, a junior catcher from Roland, Iowa; Kati Steffen, a sophomore first baseman from Moville, Iowa; and Courtney Vaughn, a senior third baseman from Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Neely was named to the All-GPAC first team for the third time in her career, while Dargy and Vaughn were each second-team selections last year.

Dargy has a .346 batting average with a team-high 53 hits and 153 at-bats. She also tops the Mustangs with 12 doubles, two triples, and 32 runs scored and ranks among the team leaders with five home runs, 25 RBIs, and four stolen bases.

Neely has a .316 batting average with four doubles, three home runs, 26 RBIs, and 11 runs. She has picked nine runners off base and leads the Mustangs with 24 walks and a .451 on-base percentage.

Steffen is the Mustangs’ top power hitter and run producer with team-high totals of 11 home runs and 43 RBIs. She also leads the Mustangs with a .652 slugging percentage and has homered in four of her last five games. Steffen has a .362 batting average with eight doubles and 16 runs.

Vaughn has a .312 batting average with nine doubles, one triple, six home runs, 28 RBIs, and 30 runs. She has been hit by a pitch eight times to lead the Mustangs in that category.

In addition to their four first-team selections, the Mustangs also placed Jordan Johnson and Taylor Michaelson on the All-GPAC Second Team.

Johnson, a sophomore pitcher from Sioux City, has a 16-7 record with a 2.24 earned run average. She has seven shutouts and 17 complete games in 19 starts. Johnson has 50 walks and 97 strikeouts in 156.1 innings pitched. Johnson has a .308 batting average with six doubles, four home runs, 17 RBIs, 18 runs, and three stolen bases and is the Mustangs’ toughest player to strike out with only 10 strikeouts in 133 at-bats.

Michaelson, a freshman outfielder from Sioux City, is the Mustangs’ leading hitter with 52 hits in 137 at-bats for a .380 batting average. She has two doubles, one triple, one home run, eight RBIs, and 23 runs.

Morningside’s Emily Wassom, a senior shortstop from Spencer, Iowa, was named to the All-GPAC honorable mention list. Wassom has a .210 batting average with six doubles, one home run, nine RBIs, and 13 runs and is the team leader with 13 sacrifices.

Morningside has a 28-18 record and will make its fourth consecutive appearance in the NAIA Softball National Championship tournament after it won last week’s GPAC Post-Season Tournament. The Mustangs finished fourth in the GPAC regular season standings with an 11-9 league mark.

Click here for the complete 2012 All-GPAC Softball Team.

After hovering around the .500 mark for most of the season, the Mustang softball team got hot at the end and will make their fourth consecutive appearance in the NAIA National Championship tournament because of it.

Morningside earned its national tournament berth with an 8-1 victory against Midland University in Saturday’s championship game of the GPAC Post-Season Tournament in Hastings, Neb.

This year’s NAIA national tourney is slated for May 17-23 in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Saturday’s victory against Midland was the sixth straight win for the Mustangs and the ninth triumph in their last 10 contests. The Mustangs (28-18) had a record of just 19-17 prior to their current surge.

Morningside led wire-to-wire in the GPAC final after it took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Kirsten Dargy reached on an error by the shortstop, advanced to third on an error by the third baseman, and came home on a sacrifice fly by Courtney Vaughn.

The Mustangs broke the game open with five more runs in the fourth to increase their advantage to 6-0. Singles by Taylor Daas and Shelby Feldt set up a RBI single by Taylor Michaelson. Courtney Vaughn reached on an error to bring home another run before NAIA All-America catcher Mackenzie Neely provided the big blow of the game with a three-run home run that put the Mustangs up 6-0.

Morningside pitcher Emma Remy lost her bid for a shutout when the Warriors’ Liz Spooner led off the fifth inning with a home run, but the Mustangs answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame to complete the game’s scoring. The Mustangs loaded the bases after walks to Jordan Johnson, Daas, and Emily Wassom to set up a sacrifice fly by Feldt and a RBI single by Dargy.

Feldt and Michaelson each had two singles to pace a nine-hit Morningside offensive attack. Their hit parade also included a home run by Neely, a double by Johnson, and singles by Dargy, Daas, and Kelsey Tobin.

Remy (11-12) won her third straight start with a complete game four-hitter. She struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter.

Morningside advanced to Saturday’s championship game of the GPAC Post-Season Softball Tournament in Hastings, Neb., with a come-from-behind 5-3 victory against Doane College in Friday’s winner’s bracket final.

The victory put the Mustangs in the driver’s seat of the double elimination tournament as the only undefeated team left in the field. Midland advanced through the elimination bracket and will be the Mustangs' opponent in the championship game. If Midland wins Saturday's contest, the teams will play a second game to determine the champion.

The winner of the GPAC Tournament will be the league’s representative at the 2012 NAIA Softball National Championship tourney slated for May 17-23 in Gulf Shores, Ala.

The Mustangs used the long ball to account for almost all of their scoring in Friday’s win against Doane, as four of their five runs came courtesy of the home run.

Kirsten Dargy led off the game with a home run to give the Mustangs an early 1-0 advantage, but Doane bunched three hits together to tie the score in the bottom of the inning on a RBI single by Brooke Sampson.

Doane scored a pair of unearned runs on a two-run single by Harley Horner in the bottom of the third inning to take a 3-1 lead.

The Tigers held their lead until the fifth inning when Mackenzie Neely reached on an error and Kati Steffen blasted a two-run homer for her third blast of the tournament to tie the score at 3-3.

The Mustangs went ahead 4-3 when Dargy led off the fourth inning with a home run and added an insurance run in the seventh on a RBI single by Dargy.

After allowing seven hits through 3.1 innings, Mustang starting pitcher Jordan Johnson settled in and retired the Tigers’ final 10 batters of the game. Johnson scattered seven hits to go along with three walks and four strikeouts in a complete game performance to improve her record to 16-7. She has won 12 of her last 14 starts.

Morningside collected 10 hits against Doane pitcher Kelsey Heunink and Jenna Alswager. Dargy and Steffen were the big bats in the lineup. Dargy went three-for-five with two home runs and three RBIs, while Steffen was two-for-four with a home run and two RBIs. Johnson added a pair of singles, while Taylor Michaelson, Courtney Vaughn, and Emily Wassom all had one single. Vaughn singled in her final at-bat in the sixth inning to extend her hitting streak to 13 games.

Morningside went 2-0 on Thursday to advance to Friday’s winner’s bracket final in the double-elimination GPAC Post-Season Softball Tournament in Hastings, Neb.

The Mustangs opened the tourney with a 4-0 win against Dakota Wesleyan before they clubbed Northwestern 11-3 in six innings in the winner’s bracket semifinals. Morningside, the tournament’s fourth seed, will face No. 2 seed Doane in Friday’s winner’s bracket final at 2 p.m.

Jordan Johnson twirled a two-hit shutout and Courtney Vaughn and Kati Steffen each slugged home runs to lead Morningside to a 4-0 victory against Dakota Wesleyan in its tournament opener.

The Mustangs, who won for the sixth time in their last seven games, raised their record to 25-18 and avenged a pair of one-run losses (6-5 and 3-2) suffered against the Tigers during the regular season.

Johnson faced only one batter over the minimum as two of the Tigers’ four batters who reached base were erased on double plays and another was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double.

Johnson (15-7) walked two and struck out five. She won for the 11th time in her last 13 starts, including seven wins by shutout.

The Mustangs used the long ball to do most of their offensive damage with a two-run home run by Vaughn in the third inning and a solo shot by Steffen in the fourth.

The Mustangs broke through against Dakota Wesleyan starter Brandi Nekrassoff with two runs in the bottom of the third inning when Taylor Michaelson hit a two-out single to set up the two-run blast by Vaughn.

The Mustangs increased their lead to 3-0 when Steffen homered to lead off the fourth inning for her team-leading ninth home run of the season.

Morningside capped its scoring in the fifth inning when Michaelson singled and was eventually forced home when Johnson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Steffen had a home run and single and Michaelson had a pair of singles to pace a nine-hit Morningside offensive attack. Vaughn extended her hitting streak to 11 games with her home run, while Kirsten Dargy, Mackenzie Neely, Taylor Daas, and Emily Wassom all had singles.

The Mustangs slugged three more home runs when they drubbed No. 1 seed Northwestern in five innings. Two of the homers came in the third inning when Steffen and Johnson went back-to-back. The Mustangs’ first two batters of the inning each reached base when Michaelson singled and Vaughn was hit by a pitch. That set up a three-run home run by Steffen and then Johnson followed with a solo shot to make it 4-0.

Morningside’s other home run came in the fourth inning when Vaughn hit a two-run shot to increase the Mustangs’ lead to 9-0. The home run was a two-run shot by Vaughn.

The Mustangs had taken a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The big blow of the inning was a two-run single by Steffen.

The Mustangs capped their scoring with two more runs in the top of the sixth inning on RBI singles by Michaelson and Neely.

Steffen went three-for-five with five RBIs to pace a 12-hit Morningside offensive attack. Michaelson and Neely each had two singles, while Vaughn and Johnson had home runs. Dargy, Wassom, and Shelby Feldt added singles.

Emma Remy allowed three runs on seven hits over the first five innings to get the pitching win She walked three and struck out two.

Dakota Wesleyan Box

Jordan Johnson, a sophomore pitcher from Sioux City, has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Softball Pitcher of the Week for April 2-8.

Johnson pitched a pair of abbreviated five-inning shutouts to help the Mustangs go 2-2 for the week. She did not walk a batter and allowed only five hits in 10 innings in wins against Northwestern College and Hastings College. Johnson twirled a two-hitter with four strikeouts in an 8-0 victory against Northwestern on April 4 to hand the Red Raiders their only league setback so far this season. She pitched a three-hitter with three strikeouts in a 9-0 win against Hastings on April 6.

Johnson has not allowed an earned run in her last four starts while lowering her season’s earned run average from 3.54 to 2.56.

Morningside College head softball coach Jessica Jones-Sitzmann has announced the names of a transfer addition who will join the Mustangs for the 2012 season and eight recruits who will join the team next year.

The transfer is Taylor Michaelson, an outfielder from Sioux City who joined the Mustangs at the semester break from Iowa Lakes Community College. Michaelson, who has freshman eligibility, is a 2011 graduate of Sioux City East High School, where she was a five-year starter and a four-time Class 4A all-state selection.

Michaelson earned second-team all-state honors last summer after she batted a career-high .468 with seven doubles, two triples, 20 RBIs, and 26 base on balls. She led the Black Raiders with 46 runs scored and was a perfect 23-for-23 on stolen base attempts.

She was a first-team all-stater as a junior when she hit .421 with four doubles, three triples, 18 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases. Michaelson hit .438 with three doubles, 10 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases en route to second-team all-state laurels as a sophomore and was a third-team all-stater as a freshman when she hit .397 with two doubles, two triples, 14 RBIs, and 26 stolen bases.

The high school recruits are:

Carly Heese, an infielder from Harlan, Iowa. Heese is a senior at Harlan High School, where she batted .265 with nine doubles, one home run, and 11 RBIs during her junior campaign.

Kendall Hendrix, a pitcher-outfielder from Omaha, Neb. Hendrix is a senior at Gretna High School, where she earned first-team All-Eastern Midlands Conference honors and Omaha World-Herald honorable mention Class B all-state recognition this past fall. Hendrix had a 12-4 record with a 1.55 earned run average and 43 strikeouts in 85.1 innings pitched. At the plate she batted .244 with five doubles, two triples, 14 RBIs, and nine stolen bases.

Natasha Hongsermeier, an infielder from Phillip, Neb., who is a senior at Aurora High School. Hongsermeier earned first-team All-Central West Conference honors and was an Omaha World-Herald Class B honorable mention all-stater last fall. She collected 29 hits in 71 at-bats for a .408 batting average with six doubles, six triples, one home run, 22 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases. Hongsermeier set school records with her six triples and a .481 on-base percentage.

Jordan Kerns, an outfielder from Whiting, Iowa. Kerns will join the Mustangs next year with junior eligibility as a transfer from Iowa Western Community College, where she hit .349 with five doubles, one triple, two home runs, 30 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases during the 2011 season.

Kerns is a 2010 graduate of Westwood High School, where she hit .469 with seven doubles, 16 triples, one home run, 31 RBIs, and 39 stolen bases as a senior. She ranked second in the state with her 16 triples. Kerns was named to the Class 2A all-state first-team as a pitcher during her senior campaign after she posted a 22-4 record with a 2.09 earned run average. As a junior she hit .322 with four doubles, six triples, 20 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases to earn honorable mention Class 2A all-state honors.

Alli Martin, an outfield from Sioux City. Martin is a senior at Sioux City Bishop Heelan Catholic High School, where she batted .233 with two triples and 14 RBIs last season.

Anna Milone, an outfielder from Omaha, Neb. Milone is a senior at Omaha Skutt Catholic High School, where she helped lead the team to Nebraska’s 2011 Class B state championship. Milone hit .325 with one home run and 22 RBIs to earn honorable mention all-state honors from the Omaha World-Herald.

Kristina Neumann, an infielder from Sioux City. Neumann is a senior at Sioux City Bishop Heelan Catholic High School, where she hit .311 with three doubles, two triples, 23 RBIs, and 25 base on balls last summer. She struck out only six times in 90 at-bats.

Cassidy Wilcke, a pitcher from Battle Creek, Iowa. Wilcke is a senior at Odebolt Arthur-Battle Creek Ida Grove High School, where she earned second-team Class 2A all-state honors as a utility player last summer. She had a 10-10 pitching record with a 3.25 earned run average and batted .473 with 13 doubles, one home run, and 21 RBIs. Wilcke struck out only three times in 91 at-bats.

Morningside posted a 46-11 record last season en route to a third consecutive Great Plains Athletic Conference championship and NAIA National Tournament appearance.

Morningside has been tabbed the favorite to win the 2012 GPAC softball championship in the GPAC Softball Coaches Pre-Season Poll.

The Mustangs, who have won each of the past three league titles, received 10 of the 11 first place votes in the pre-season poll.

Morningside returns six of its eight position starters and both starting pitchers from a team that finished 46-11 last season and made its third consecutive appearance in the NAIA National Tournament.

The Mustangs will open the 2012 season at the Friends University Tournament on March 2 and 3 in Wichita, Kan.