Webster Walks Away With Three Top Awards
Webster University took home three of the top individual awards for the 2021 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball season. The Gorloks received the SLIAC Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Coach of the Year awards; marking the first time since 2007 the program has taken home the three awards during the same season.
Abby Burroughs becomes the first Gorlok to be named the SLIAC Player of the Year since Dana Vahey in 2009. Burroughs, a senior outfielder, hit .575 during conference play with 2 home runs and 12 runs batted in. She finished with 10 runs scored during her 10 conference games, leading the league with 23 hits, 6 doubles, and 37 total bases. She also added 4 stolen bases, good for sixth in the conference. Burroughs had a .925 slugging percentage against conference opponents and had 11 total multiple hit games this season.
Iowa Wesleyan University's Morgan Christner becomes just the second player in conference history to be named SLIAC Pitcher of the Year in back-to-back seasons. Christner, a senior, was 3-3 with a 1.75 earned-run average in six conference starts this season. She led the league in strikeouts for a second straight season, totaling 53 this spring. Christner held opponents to a .249 batting average and recorded four complete games with one shutout.
This year's SLIAC Newcomer of the Year is Kaelyn Kearney, from Webster. The infielder hit .370 against conference competition, totaling six runs scored and three runs batted in. She struck out just once in 10 conference games and finished with a .433 on-base percentage. She also recorded a perfect fielding percentage, tallying 13 putouts and six assists.
Webster also takes home the Coach of the Year award, going to Katie Griffith. Griffith led Webster to a 17-10 overall record this spring, its first winning season since 2018. They went 6-4 in the SLIAC, finishing 2nd in the standings, their highest finish since 2011. She is the first Gorlok head coach to win the award since 2010 and the fifth overall.
In addition the Team Sportsmanship award goes to Blackburn College for exemplifying the best sportsmanship qualities throughout the season.
| SLIAC | First Team | |||||
| Pos. | Player | School | Yr | Hometown/High School | ||
| P | Morgan Christner | Iowa Wesleyan | Sr | New London, Iowa | ||
| P | Kirbie Mendenhall | Webster | Sr | Robinson, Ill./Robinson | ||
| C | Jaelin Holdaway | Webster | Fr | West Valley, Utah/Cyprus | ||
| INF | Brooke Laidley | Westminster | Sr | Belleville, Ill./Belleville East | ||
| INF | Morgan Ledbetter | Eureka | Sr | Hanna City, Ill./Elmwood | ||
| INF | Gracie Morris | Fontbonne | Jr | Florissant, Mo./Alton Marquette | ||
| INF | Raelyn Payne | Eureka | Jr | Lexington, Ill./Lexington | ||
| OF | Abby Burroughs | Webster | Sr | Edwardsville, Ill./Triad | ||
| OF | Emily Esquivel | Westminster | Fr | San Diego, Calif./Eastlake | ||
| OF | Mackenzie Myers | Westminster | Sr | Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette | ||
| UT | Madison Loechle | Spalding | Fr | Newcastle, Ky./Assumption | ||
| AL (OF) | Jordan Heinz | Eureka | Sr | Washington, Ill./Washington | ||
| SLIAC | Second Team | |||||
| P | Erin Carr | Westminster | So | Woodlawn, Ill./Christ Our Rock Lutheran | ||
| P | Abby Richmond | Fontbonne | Jr | Ballwin, Mo./Marquette | ||
| C | Paige Thomas | Webster | Fr | Emporia, Kansas/Emporia | ||
| INF | Brooklyn Bledsoe | Westminster | Sr | Eldon, Mo./Eldon | ||
| INF | Laney Rosson | Westminster | Jr | Columbia, Mo./Battle | ||
| INF | Grace Sweat | Spalding | Sr | Memphis, Tenn./St. Benedict | ||
| INF | Maddie Wichmann | Blackburn | So | Chatham, Ill./Glenwood | ||
| OF | Kayla Ford | Iowa Wesleyan | Sr | Washington, Ill. | ||
| OF | Jennifer Peffley | Spalding | Sr | Louisville, Ky./Holy Cross | ||
| OF | Maranda Thomas | Spalding | Jr | Louisville, Ky./Assumption | ||
| UT | Lexi Becker | Fontbonne | Jr | St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word | ||
| AL (INF) | Sidney Holtz | Webster | Fr | Taylorsville, Utah/Murray | ||
| SLIAC | Third Team | |||||
| P | Olivia Carter | Spalding | Sr | Springfield, Ill./Pleasant Plains | ||
| P | Katie Price | Westminster | Sr | Ashland, Mo./Southern Boone | ||
| C | Grace Paez | Fontbonne | Fr | St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word | ||
| INF | Hannah Hoffmann | Greenville | Sr | Carlyle, Ill./Carlyle | ||
| INF | Lilly Jones | Fontbonne | So | Benton, Mo./Thomas W Kelly | ||
| INF | Sheyla Iniguez | Webster | Jr | Riverside, Calif./Bloomington | ||
| INF | Patience Vandermierden | Fontbonne | So | Leopold, Mo./Leopold | ||
| OF | Madison Galczynski | Fontbonne | Fr | St. Louis, Mo./Bishop DuBourg | ||
| OF | Grace Harlin | Fontbonne | Jr | Findlay, Ill./Okaw Valley | ||
| OF | Jaclyn Belzer | Greenville | So | Belleville, Ill./Belleville East | ||
| UT | Brooke Daniels | Blackburn | Sr | Lapel, Ind./Lapel | ||
| AL (UT) | Kaelyn Kearney | Webster | Fr | Draper, Utah/Corner Canyon | ||
| SLIAC | All-Sportsmanship Team | |||||
| Jackie Rose | Blackburn | |||||
| Sidney Wightman | Eureka | |||||
| Skylar Freeman | Fontbonne | |||||
| Olivia Shipman | Greenville | |||||
| Addison Westercamp | Iowa Wesleyan | |||||
| Maegan Hendricks | Spalding | |||||
| Chloe Johnson | Webster | |||||
| Maddie Marrero | Westminster |
