Our NCAA Division II Ladies are a Big Hit at the Plate
Including pitchers, there are 233 batters from MO and KS high schools in Division II. And they hit. Four are over .400 while 38 are over .300. Remember, George Brett's HOF career average was .305.
This edition in this series reviews the NCAA DII Softball batters who came from Missouri and Kansas high schools. There are 233 of them, many making a lot of noise with her bats. If you missed the first parts of this series, you can access them here:
Baseball Division I Pitching Baseball Division I Batting
Softball Division I Pitching Softball Division I Batting
Baseball Division II Pitching Baseball Division II Batting
I will be completing this series through DIII, and then you will get the detailed season reviews that you won’t want to miss. They will be filled with postseason honors and high statistical rankings, both in their conferences and nationally.
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I will be reviewing the batting results for all 233 ladies below. But first, I will provide a link that can be helpful to those who are observing collegiate softball. Rules will differ between levels. Most of us, especially males, were raised with baseball. Baseball and Softball certainly have similarities, but there are some stark differences. If you are like most people, including me, it can be uncomfortable to ask a question that might be thought of as a “dumb question”. The link below does a good job of describing collegiate softball and strategic differences with baseball. It also details a major difference, that is the dynamics between pitching underhand vs overhand. You can ignore the writer’s loyalty to the University of California, if you want, but he has good information. Consider this to be a good primer for the softball fan. Click here to access that article.
Now let’s see what all of those ladies have been up to. They have come from 151 Missouri and Kansas high schools from all over both states. The smaller schools are very well represented. They can’t compete with the big schools with the volume of collegiate players produced, but they do produce many of the best players.
For the statistics involving a percentage, I am using a minimum number of at bats of 75. That is similar to many of the conferences. All of these numbers are as of May 7.
Karma Fields (Frontenac/Elizabeth City State Univ.) is a freshman who leads all batters with a .488 average. She is just above the minimum of number of AB’s, but they are enough for her to be the leader of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and 2nd in all of Division II. And she is a freshman! Not far behind, with the more at bats and anyone else in this universe is Sydni Hawkins (Wichita Southeast/Missouri Western State). She has an astonishing average of .431. Her 87 hits is the 2nd most in Division II. Also hitting over .400 are Emily Adler (Rose Hill/Oklahoma Baptist University) and Yasmin Vargas (Garden City/Missouri Southern State), both at .419. The next highest average by a true freshman is Heather Arnett (Frontenac/Pittsburg State Univ.) who is batting .376 in 165 AB’s. Did you notice? The top two freshmen are both from Frontenac High School, which has a student population of 267.
To pile up a large number of at bats, there needs to be a number of things at play. First, you have to be good enough for your coach to want you in the line up all the time. You are probably high on the batting order. And you are durable. You don’t get injured. And you have that desire that pushes you through those inevitable aches and pains. I noted the high batting average of Sydni Hawkins (Wichita Southeast/Missouri Western State). Her 202 AB’s not only are the most in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), that is the most in Division II. What coach doesn’t want a .431 average in the lineup? She leads off for the Griffons, and has started every game. That is durability. Lillie Filger (Kearney/Northwest Missouri State) is a sophomore with 178 AB’s, in which she is batting .371. Close behind in AB’s, both with high averages, are Marrit Mead (Santa Fe Trail/Washburn University) and Abbey Fischer (Shawnee Heights/Univ of Central Missouri) with 174 (BA of .385) and 172 (BA of .366), respectively. Heather Arnett (Frontenac/Pittsburg State Univ.) has the most AB’s among the freshmen with 165.
To win, you have to score runs. Abbey Fischer (Shawnee Heights/Univ. of Central Missouri) has scored the most runs with 57. Heather Arnett (Frontenac/Pittsburg State Univ.) is the freshman with the most runs at 37. Also scoring early in her collegiate career is freshman Carly Stuke (Hayden/Fort Hays State) with 28 runs.
To score runs, it helps to have someone hit you in. Leading this group of stellar softball players with 48 RBI, are Isabel Marcotte (Bishop Carroll/Georgia Southwestern State) and Olivia Daugherty (Liberty North/Northwest Missouri State). Karma Fields (Frontenac/Elizabeth City State Univ.) is the leading freshman (and 6th highest in this universe) with 36 despite her only having 82 at bats. That is due to her high .488 batting average.
The 20 doubles hit by Sydni Hawkins (Wichita Southeast/Missouri Western State) is the 5th most in Division II. Close behind are Isabella Wilson (Troy Buchanan/Illinois-Springfield), Emily Shipman (Forsyth/Southern Arkansas University), Loren Beggs (Olathe Northwest/Fort Hays State) with 16, 15, and 15, respectively. The 12 doubles by Carly Stuke (Hayden/Fort Hays State) is the most from these two states by a freshman.
Isabel Marcotte (Bishop Carroll/Georgia Southwestern State) has the most home runs, with 15. The leading freshman is Katie Gray (Lansing/Missouri Southern State) with 6 round trippers.
Despite being a freshman, Karma Fields (Frontenac/Elizabeth City State Univ.) keeps appearing throughout this review. This time for her 3rd in the country .902 slugging percentage.
Leading in stolen bases are Yasmin Vargas (Garden City/Missouri Southern State) and Abbey Ward (Olathe South (Emporia State Univ.) with 36 steals. Yasmin stole those in 37 attempts while Abbey attempted 39 steals. Heather Arnett (Frontenac/Pittsburg State Univ.) leads all freshmen with 26 steals in 27 attempts. The baserunner with the most steals without having been thrown out is Marrit Mead (Santa Fe Trail/Washburn University) who is perfect in her 27 attempts.
Collegiate Softball doesn’t have a Designated Hitter, but it does have a Designated Player, which is similar. The difference is explained in the link I provided above, which is also here. Very few American League MLB pitchers ever see the batter’s box other than every other year in the World Series. In Collegiate Softball, that is up to the coach. And that decision is guided by coaching philosophy and the hitting abilities of the pitching crew.
Of the 56 pitchers, 28 have recorded an at bat. Of those 28, 10 have 50 or more AB’s. What great value pitchers add to their teams when they can also hit. McKenzie West (Monroe City/Truman State Univ.) has the highest BA among pitchers at .340. And that is with 97 AB’s! Other pitchers showing they can hit are Kara Amos (Truman/Missouri Southern State) (.319 BA), Bryn Wooldridge (Salisbury/Univ. of Missouri S & T) (.306 BA), Jaycee Ginter (Shawnee Heights/Washburn University) (.303 BA), and Harley Pruetting (Gardner-Edgerton/Missouri Western State) (.296 BA). Harley is a freshman, as is Avery Huffman (Grain Valley/Southwest Baptist University) who is hitting .256.
McKenzie West (Monroe City/Truman State Univ.) hits (.340 in 97 AB’s), has struck out 17 batters in 29 innings of work, and has stolen 13 bases in 15 attempts. That is a triple threat!
The best combination of pitching and hitting is Jaycee Ginter (Shawnee Heights/Washburn). She is hitting .303 in 152 AB’s and is the leading pitcher from these two states.
Some of these names may sound familiar as they place high in both pitching and batting. You can make those pairings yourself by looking at the Division II pitching part of this series here. You will see some names high on both lists.
The spreadsheet with 22 statistics detailed out for all 233 ladies is attached below.
But first, remember there is more to this series. And there is much more coming with my reviews of postseason awards and statistical finishes. Plus, many other sports! So, get your free subscription now!
