Freshman Schuster IWU Softball "MVP"
BLOOMINGTON,
Ill. -- Freshman third baseman Colleen Schuster has been chosen as the
"Most Valuable Player" for the 2002 Illinois Wesleyan University softball
team.
The only Titan to play in all 43 games, Schuster (Joliet HS) batted .353 and led IWU with 49 hits, 25 runs scored, 14 doubles and 27 runs batted in.
Illinois Wesleyan finished with a 32-11 record, marking the third straight season and the sixth time in 12 years with 30 or more victories, and qualified for the NCAA Division III tournament for the third straight year as a result of winning the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tournament.
In other team awards, freshman pitcher Ashley Patten (Dwight HS) was chosen as the team's "Most Improved Player" and junior pitcher Ellen Furr (Newark HS) won the "Gwen Meyer Award."
Patten posted a 4-2 record with a 1.08 earned run average. She struck out 30 in 45 1/3 innings, hurled three complete games, and limited opponents to a .179 average against her.
Furr was 5-0 with a 1.59 ERA and also batted .316 as a position player filling in for injured outfielders late in the season.
The "Gwen Meyer Award" is given to the player who gives 100 percent, shows support of the team and is self-motivated. The award was established in 1986 to honor the memory of Meyer, IWU's most valuable softball player in 1984, who died of cancer.
Junior pitcher A.J. Reeley (Danville HS) became IWU's all-time leader in pitching victories as she finished with a 10-4 mark and a 1.09 ERA. In her career Reeley is 38-11 and is IWU's all-time leader with a 1.43 career earned run average and a .776 winning percentage, while ranking fourth in innings pitched (343 1/3) and strikeouts (153).
Junior shortstop Stephanie Hieser (Minier, Stanford Olympia HS) was second on the team in batting average (.355) and hits (39) and led IWU with a .455 on-base percentage. After three seasons, Hieser ranks 10th in career hits (129), 15th in runs (74), and her career average of .340 is 11th best at IWU among players who had at least 200 career at bats.
Sophomore outfielder Nicole Williams (Park Forest, Crete-Monee HS), who led IWU with a .371 batting average, stole 23 bases this spring and has 53 in her two seasons, easily within reach of the school mark of 54, held by Jackie Kloiber, who played from 1997-2000.
Sophomore Kelly Murray (Bloomington, Central Catholic HS) was the CCIW "Pitcher of the Year" and finished with an overall 13-5 record, a 1.43 ERA and led the team with 92 strikeouts in 127 innings. In two seasons Murray is already sixth at IWU with 135 career strikeouts.
As a position player when not pitching, Murray hit .322 with 22 RBI, two home runs and a team-high .478 slugging percentage.
First year head coach Beth Hasheider awarded letters to 18 players, 16 of whom will return for next season. They are, with hometowns and high schools:
SENIORS - Mandi Cioni (Granville, Putnam County HS); Kate Molina (Skokie, Loyola Academy).
JUNIORS - Ellen Furr (Newark HS); Stephanie Hieser (Minier, Stanford Olympia HS); A.J. Reeley (Danville HS); Kristin Scott (Bloomington, Central Catholic HS); Stephanie Stephen (Martinsville, Casey-Westfield HS).
SOPHOMORES - Lisa Krapf (Monee, Peotone HS); Kat Mason (Galesburg HS); Kelly Murray (Bloomington, Central Catholic HS); Jamie Palmer (Knoxville HS); Nicole Reed (Normal, West HS); Nicole Williams (Park Forest, Crete-Monee HS).
FRESHMEN - Brynn Hasse (Chillicothe,
IVC HS); DesaRae Myers (Normal, West HS); Ashley Patten (Dwight
HS); Alesia Perry (Yorkville HS); Colleen Schuster (Joliet
HS).
MEDIA CONTACT: Stew Salowitz, (309) 556-3206