FARGO, N.D.—Eight South Dakota softball players, or nearly its entire starting lineup, have earned all-Summit League honors announced Tuesday at the league's annual softball banquet held before the start of the Summit League Tournament. The eight matches the most in program history first set by the 2015 squad.
The Coyotes' entire infield is all-Summit League, a feat no other team can boast. That includes catcher
Jessica Rogers, first baseman
Jamie Holscher, second baseman
Alyssa Fernandez, shortstop
Lauren Eamiguel, third baseman
Lauren Wobken and pitchers
Alexis Devers and
Dustie Durham. Center fielder
Camille Fowler is also on the team.
Rogers, a senior, is a first-team honoree for the third consecutive season. Fowler, a junior, is a three-time all-Summit outfielder. Eamiguel is a first-teamer in each of her first two seasons. Fernandez earned all-conference honors in each of her two years inside the Summit.
Holscher, who led the conference in RBIs, had the second-best average, and was third for homers, was seeking to become the Coyotes' first Summit MVP winner, but that nod went to North Dakota State senior slapper Katie Shoultz who hit a league-best .404, stole 24 bases and played a flawless center field for the Bison. Holscher led the league in hits both overall (65) and in conference play (24).
At 31-24, South Dakota boasts its most wins at the Division I level. The Coyotes finished 12-6 in Summit play and are the No. 2 seed in the tournament. Their first game will be Thursday at 2:30 p.m. against either Purdue Fort Wayne or Western Illinois. The Coyotes' second-place finish is tied for their best since joining the league in 2012.
More information on each of South Dakota's eight all-Summit performers follows:
Jessica Rogers, Sr., C, Lincoln, Neb.
Rogers hit .277 with eight doubles, seven home runs and 34 RBIs. In Summit play, she hit .388 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 18 games. Rogers led the league with seven doubles during the conference season and her .714 slugging percentage was second-best. In 209 career games, Rogers has hit 32 home runs, third-most in program history, with 125 RBIs, fifth-most in program history.
Jamie Holscher, Sr., 1B, Lincoln, Neb.
Holscher hit .385 during the regular season with 10 home runs and a league-high 47 RBIs. Three of her homers were game winners. Inside the Summit, she hit .400 with two long balls and 15 RBIs. Amongst Summit players, she ranked in the top five in hits (first), doubles (second), homers (third), total bases (first), average (second), slugging percentage (second) and on-base percentage (fifth).
Alyssa Fernandez, Sr., 2B, Mesa, Ariz.
Fernandez is not only the top defensive second baseman in the Summit, but she has the best fielding percentage at her position in the region (.989). She is also the league's leading scorer with 39 runs. Fernandez hit .318 with eight doubles, two home runs and 23 RBIs during the regular season. In conference play, she hit .345 and scored 17 times in 18 games.
Lauren Eamiguel, So., SS, Mesa, Ariz.
Eamiguel hit a league-best .440 in conference play and had the best on-base percentage at .500. In 18 Summit games, she had two triples, a homer and scored 13 times. Overall, she finished with the third-best batting average in the Summit at .359. She also had three triples, four home runs, 25 RBIs and scored 32 times.
Lauren Wobken, So., 3B, Scribner, Neb.
Wobken led all Summit third basemen with seven home runs, which tied for seventh-most overall. She hit .234 during the regular season with four doubles, 24 RBIs and 20 runs scored. In conference play, she hit .173 with three doubles, a homer and eight runs scored. Wobken has played in 100 games since arriving on campus last season.
Alexis Devers, So., P, Peoria, Ariz.
If the Summit handed out a most improved player award, Devers would take the cake. After winning one game a year ago, Devers ranks sixth in the Summit with 12 victories this season. She has logged the second-most innings in the conference (149 1/3), has the fourth-most shutouts (4) and the fifth-most strikeouts (80). Devers started 11 of USD's 18 games inside the Summit, going 5-4 with a 3.05 ERA. Overall, she is 12-13 with a 3.66 ERA.
Dustie Durham, Sr., P/UT, Buckeye, Ariz.
Durham has been the best pitcher/hitter in the Summit League in each of the last two seasons. At the plate, she is batting .337 with six home runs, 34 RBIs and 25 runs scored. She ranks second in the league in hits (61) and total bases (96), fourth in doubles (11) and triples (3), fifth in average and seventh in slugging (.530). Inside the circle, she is 13-8 with a 3.62 ERA in 121 2/3 innings of work. She is fourth in the league in wins, third for shutouts and seventh for strikeouts (64).
Camille Fowler, Jr., OF, Omaha, Neb.
In addition to being one of the best defensive players in the league (she has nine outfield assists this year), Fowler is batting .272 with three doubles, three triples and 35 runs scored. She recently became the 10
th Coyote since 2000 to total 100 career runs and needed less than three seasons to achieve the milestone. In Summit play, she hit .242, stole four bases and score 12 times in 18 games.
2019 All-Summit League Softball Teams and Individual Awards
(as selected by The Summit League head coaches)
Player of the Year: Katie Shoultz, North Dakota State
Pitcher of the Year: KK Leddy, North Dakota State
Freshman of the Year: Paige Vargas, North Dakota State
Coach of the Year: Darren Mueller, North Dakota State
First Team All-Summit League
P – KK Leddy, North Dakota State
P – Emily Ira, Western Illinois
C – Maddie Hansen, North Dakota State
1B – Vanessa Anderson, North Dakota State
2B –
Alyssa Fernandez, South Dakota
3B – Megan Rushing, South Dakota State
SS – Montana DeCamp, North Dakota State
OF – Katie Shoultz, North Dakota State
OF – Lauren Watson, Purdue Fort Wayne
OF – Madyson Camacho, North Dakota State
DP – Cara Beatty, North Dakota State
P – Kendra Conard, South Dakota State
C –
Jessica Rogers, South Dakota
SS –
Lauren Eamiguel, South Dakota
Second Team All-Summit League
P –
Alexis Devers, South Dakota
P – Paige Vargas, North Dakota State
C – Meghan Henson, Western Illinois
1B – Ali Herdliska, South Dakota State
2B – Baily Janssen, South Dakota State
3B – Emma Dargy, Omaha
SS – Yanney Ponce, South Dakota State
OF – Jasmine Lara, Western Illinois
OF –
Camille Fowler, South Dakota
OF – Kayleen Schneider, North Dakota
DP –
Dustie Durham, South Dakota
1B –
Jamie Holscher, South Dakota
3B –
Lauren Wobken, South Dakota
DP – Jailene Carpio, North Dakota
