FARGO, N.D. – South Dakota State senior Brittney Morse was named the Summit League Player of the Year, Krista Wood earned Coach of the Year honors and six Jackrabbits picked up All-Summit League nods Tuesday night at the league’s championship banquet.
Morse joins senior Madison Hope and junior Julia Andersen on the first team. Senior Abbey Murphy, junior Ali Herdliska and junior Megan Rushing were named to the second team.
“I am extremely proud of this group and we know this is a reflection of the work our team has put in this season,” Wood said. “It is always rewarding to have players honored for their accomplishments on behalf of our team.”
Morse is the first Jackrabbit to earn Summit League Player of the Year honors after leading the conference in batting average (.418) and RBIs (58), setting a school single-season record in the latter. Morse went 66-for-158 at the plate, finishing second on the team in hits, while racking up 10 home runs, 14 doubles and nine walks. The Houston, Texas, native tallied 22 multi-hit performances and had 16 multi-RBI games. Morse was named Summit League Female Athlete of the Month in April and earned the league’s weekly award once this year. She is a repeat all-league selection after earning second team honors last year.
Hope (3.55 ERA) is second in the Summit League with 19 wins (against six losses) and has four saves. She broke the school’s career saves record earlier this season and now has six in a Jackrabbit uniform. Hope, who is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, has tossed 13 complete games in 35 appearances and leads the team in strikeouts (92) and innings pitched (154) while being named Summit League’s Pitcher of the Week twice this season.
Andersen led the league in hits (67) and doubles (17) this season while hitting .406 at the plate, posting a .459 on-base mark with a .588 slugging percentage. She ended the regular season by reaching safely in 28 consecutive games and has 18 games with two or more hits, including a pair of four-hit games against Omaha and IPFW. Andersen hit three home runs and added two triples. From Papillion, Neb., she drew 15 walks and, in the field, posted a .974 fielding percentage.
Murphy hit .417 (65-for-156) on the season with a league-leading four triples, adding 13 doubles and 22 walks while driving in 33. She reached safely in a school-record 38 games between last season and 2018, and posted 20 multi-hit games, joining Morse as one of two Jackrabbits to have a five-RBI contest (while finishing with eight total multi-RBI games). The Macksburg, Iowa, native paced the league in on-base percentage (.497), was third in hits and finished fifth in RBIs.
Herdliska blasted 10 home runs while going 45-for-140 (.321) at the plate, playing all but two available innings at first base this season for the Jackrabbits. She led the team in walks (24) and did not commit an error in Summit League play out of 92 chances. From Solon, Iowa, she recorded 13 games with multiple hits and was second on the team with 11 multi-RBI performances. Herdliska broke the school’s career walks record this season and now has 76 free passes in a Jackrabbit uniform. She also ranks second in career home runs (32) and third in RBIs (118). Herdliska is the first-ever three-time all-league performer in SDSU history.
Rushing was named all-league in her first season as a Jackrabbit, bursting onto the Summit League scene with the team’s fourth-highest average (.340), going 34-for-100 at the plate with 11 doubles, two triples and five home runs. The West Des Moines, Iowa, native was fourth in the league with a .640 slugging mark and worked 14 walks while racking up 10 games with two or more hits. She was named Summit League Player of the Week April 30.
In her fourth season at the helm, Wood has carried the program to new heights. The Jackrabbits have tallied their best record in its Division I history (32-14) with a trio of winning streaks of five games or longer. SDSU reached the 30-win mark for the fourth time in team history, and won four of its five Summit League series’ in 2018 with a split in a weather-shortened set against North Dakota State. The second-place finish is also the Jackrabbits’ best since joining the conference.
Since 2008, 17 Jackrabbits have garnered 23 All-Summit League nods.
The second-seeded Jackrabbits earned a first-round bye in the Summit League Softball Championship, which begins today.
SDSU faces the winner of No. 3 Western Illinois/No. 6 IPFW on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Ellig Sports Complex in Fargo, N.D.
ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE SOFTBALL
Player of the Year: Brittney Morse, South Dakota State.
Pitcher of the Year: Jacquelyn Sertic, North Dakota State.
Freshman of the Year: Aubrey Hacke, Omaha.
Coach of the Year: Krista Wood, South Dakota State.
First Team
Name, School Pos. Yr.
Emily Ira, Western Illinois P Jr.
Jacquelyn Sertic, North Dakota State P Sr.
Madison Hope, South Dakota State P Sr.
Jessica Rogers, South Dakota C Jr.
Brittney Morse, South Dakota State C Sr.
Hailey Duwa, Western Illinois 1B Jr.
Zoe Stavrou, North Dakota State 2B Jr.
Kelsey Marlow, Western Illinois 3B Sr.
Lauren Eamiguel, South Dakota SS Fr.
Camille Fowler, South Dakota OF So.
Julia Andersen, South Dakota State OF Jr.
Kelly Pattison, Omaha OF Sr.
Sydney Hollings, Western Illinois DP So.
Emily Winckler, South Dakota DP Sr.
Second Team
Name, School Pos. Yr.
Bailey Benefiel, IPFW P Sr.
KK Leddy, North Dakota State P Jr.
Maria Palmegiani, IPFW C So.
Ali Herdliska, South Dakota State 1B Jr.
Vanessa Anderson, North Dakota State 1B Jr.
Halle Hollatz, Western Illinois 2B So.
Alyssa Fernandez, South Dakota 2B Jr.
Megan Rushing, South Dakota State 3B Jr.
Lacey Wilzbacher, IPFW SS Jr.
Payton Abbott, Western Illinois SS Jr.
Bre Beatty, North Dakota State OF Sr.
Abbey Murphy, South Dakota State OF Sr.
Rachel Beatty, Western Illinois OF Sr.
Savannah Fisher, Omaha DP Jr.
Photo from www.gojacks.com.
