Red Devils Top All-Conference Award Winners

Eureka College made it a near sweep of the individual honors for the 2019 SLIAC softball season, taking home three of four top awards. Eureka's Debi Neff, Raelyn Payne, and Sydney Shubert were recognized for their standout seasons while Iowa Wesleyan University's Morgan Christner broke up the clean sweep.

Debi Neff was named the 2019 SLIAC Coach of the Year after leading the Red Devils to a 24-6 record in the regular season, totaling a program record 14 conference wins. Eureka won their first ever SLIAC Softball regular season title this spring and return to the postseason for the first time since 2016 after being picked 6th in the Coaches Preseason Poll. This is the second time in Neff's career she has been named the SLIAC Coach of the Year.

Raelyn Payne, a freshman from Lexington, Ill., needed no time to adjust to the collegiate level; being named the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year. In conference play, Payne hit .451 with 4 home runs, and 17 runs batted in while scoring 23 times. She ranked in the top five in runs, hits, home runs, and total bases this spring. Overall this season Payne hit .450 with 7 home runs and 30 RBI with a .757 slugging percentage. She is the first Red Devil to win the award in program history.

Sydney Shubert will also go down in the record books, becoming the first Red Devil to be named SLIAC Player of the Year. Shubert, a junior from Canton, Ill., sets the plate for the powerful Red Devil offense. The leadoff hitter batted .603 with a .640 on-base percentage, totaling 46 bases and scoring 28 runs, during conference action. She finished 1st in the league in runs, hits, batting average, and on-base percentage. Overall this season Shubert is hitting an NCAA Division III leading .617 with 66 hits and 41 runs in her 28 games. She has picked up a hit in all but two games this season and recorded 22 multiple hit games. 

The 2019 SLIAC Pitcher of the Year award goes to Iowa Wesleyan's Morgan Christner. The junior pitcher from New London, Iowa was the anchor of the Tigers turnaround this season. She went 9-1 with a 2.22 earned-run average and 93 strikeouts against conference foes. Overall this season Christner was 17-3 with a 2.08 E.R.A. and 184 strikeouts, 7th most in Division III. She also recorded 6 shutouts and held opponents to a .213 batting average while totaling nine double-digit strikeout games. 

The 2019 SLIAC Team Sportsmanship award goes to Principia College. Chosen for best exemplifying the qualities of sportsmanship throughout the season, Principia wins the award for the 6th time in program history; the first time since 2016.

2019 SLIAC Player of the Year: Sydney Shubert, Eureka College
2019 SLIAC Pitcher of the Year: Morgan Christner, Iowa Wesleyan University
2019 SLIAC Newcomer of the Year: Raelyn Payne, Eureka College
2019 SLIAC Coach of the Year: Debi Neff, Eureka College
2019 SLIAC Team Sportsmanship Award: Principia College