They Can't Score if They Can't Touch Your Pitch-NCAA DII Softball
There are 56 NCAA DII Softball pitchers from Missouri and Kansas. Two of them are in the top 8 in the country in strikeouts.
This edition in this series reviews the NCAA DII Softball pitchers who came from Missouri and Kansas high schools. They formerly competed against each other. Some still do. And they definitely compete. I will be reviewing DI, DII, and DIII Baseball and Softball, both pitching and hitting. If you missed them, here are the first in the series:
I will be completing this series through DIII, and then you will get the season reviews that you won’t want to miss. I will have final stats and rankings along with postseason awards for each athlete. And then, of course there other sports that I cover. If you aren’t a subscriber, you need to get your free subscription now!
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Of these 56 pitchers, 49 have gotten to the mound. They come from 50 high schools and have landed at 22 colleges and universities in 4 conferences.
Yes, I said that we have 2 of the top 8 strikeout artists in the nation. I will get to them in a bit. But first, lets look at ERA’s. For statistics involving a percentage, I am requiring 50 or more innings pitched.
These numbers are as of May 5.
The 5 lowest ERA’s are by underclassmen, one being a true freshman. Leading the way is junior Ellie Quaethem (Washington MO/McKendree University) at 1.48. Not far behind is another junior Jaycee Ginter (Shawnee Heights/Washburn University) with an ERA of 1.72. The third lowest is a true freshman, Harley Pruetting (Gardner-Edgerton/Missouri Western State) at 2.01.
Not surprisingly, those same ladies have posted the 3 most win totals, only in a different order. Jaycee Ginter (Shawnee Heights/Washburn University) leads with 24 wins. She is followed by Ellie Quaethem (Washington MO/McKendree University) and Harley Pruetting (Gardner-Edgerton/Missouri Western State) with 19 and 17, respectively. Jaycee leads the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) and has the 6th most in all of Division II.
Durability is a key trait of all great athletes. In softball, you want a dependable pitcher who can stay on the mound. Jaycee Ginter (Shawnee Heights/Washburn University) is that athlete. She leads our universe of pitchers with 208.0 innings pitched. She also has faced the most AB’s, by far, having worked against 756 batters. Jaycee has 22 complete games and, out of all of those pitches, has only made 6 wild pitches. Showing durability as a true freshman is Harley Pruetting (Gardner-Edgerton/Missouri Western State). She has faced 573 AB’s and recorded 11 complete games in her 149.2 innings of work.
Leading our area ladies in saves are sophomore Maquire Estill (Haven/Arkansas-Montecello) and freshman Brooklyn Fischer (Montgomery County/Quincy University) with 3 each.
And now for those strikeouts. Well, you can’t hit what you can’t see. Opposing batters must look somewhat like that blindfolded child swinging at the pinata at that birthday party. Jaycee Ginter (Shawnee Heights/Washburn University) leads this group, the MIAA, and is 4th in Division II with 243 strikeouts. Second in this group is Ellie Quaerthem (Washington MO/McKendree University) with 231 K’s. That is the most in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and is 8th in Division II. Five out of the top 14 strikeout artists from Missouri and Kansas are true freshmen. They are Harley Pruetting (Gardner-Edgerton/Missouri Western State) (141 in 149.2 innings), Brooklyn Fischer (Montgomery County/Quincy University) (112 in 116.2 innings), Sadie Walker (Holton/Washburn University) (97 in 94.2 innings), Avery Huffman (Grain Valley/Rockhurst) (81 in 87.2 innings), and Natalie Bates (Raymore-Peculiar/Missouri Southern State) (77 in 75 innings.
Ellie Quaethem (Washington MO/McKendree University could be a category all by herself. In addition to the numbers and rankings noted above, Ellie ranks high in all of Division II in three other statistics. She has the 4th most strikeouts per 7 innings with 10.7. Her 9 shutouts are the 9th most. And her strikeout to walk ratio of 7.97 is the 9th best in the country.
The local ladies pitching in Division II are talented, highly ranked and young. I will be reporting on these ladies for years to come. And speaking of reporting, you don’t want to miss the rest of this series where I will be following up with DII Softball batting in addition to pitching and batting for DIII baseball and softball. And of course there are other sports you will want to follow. You can follow them with your free subscription here:
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Here is the spreadsheet complete with 26 statistical categories for all 56 DII Softball pitchers. The numbers are through May 5.
