William Penn Athletic News May 10
William Penn Women's Athletics
Whitehead’s POY Award Tops All-Conference List
Oskaloosa–Jennifer Whitehead (Fr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) broke onto the college scene with a vengeance this year and her performances were more than enough to get her recognized as the all-Midwest Collegiate Conference softball teams were announced today.
Whitehead was named the MCC’s Pitcher of the Year and was one of five Lady Statesmen to garner league accolades. A total of 18 players were named to the first team, while an additional 18 collected honorable mentions.
Infielder Molly Miller (So., Kalona, Mid-Prairie HS), utility player Brianne Rowley (Jr., Hood River, Ore., Blue Mountain CC), and outfielder Andrea Rensberger (Sr., Sioux City, Sioux City North HS) joined Whitehead on the top squad, while outfielder Brittany Labbe (So., Northridge, Calif., Chaminade HS) was picked as an honorable mention. The league awards are the first for all five Lady Statesmen.
Whitehead was arguably the biggest reason William Penn (37-18, 15-6 MCC) won its fifth regular season title. She owned a 22-9 record this spring with a 3.25 Earned Run Average in 193 2/3 innings of work. The freshman struck out 113 batters against 49 walks and limited opponents to a .253 batting average.
A two-time MCC Pitcher of the Week, she recorded 32 consecutive scoreless innings from April 10-23. Whitehead really found her groove in league action, though, going 11-2 with a 1.80 ERA. She led the league in wins, innings pitched, starts (29), and appearances (34) and ranked in the top five in several other categories.
Miller batted .352 (63-of-179) in 2011 with 14 doubles, 30 RBIs, and 37 runs scored. She paced William Penn with seven sacrifice hits and posted an eight-game hitting streak in April.
The team’s top power hitter, Rowley finished the year at .377 (61-of-162) with bests in doubles (20), home runs (12), RBIs (47), and runs scored (43). She paced the MCC in doubles and ranked high in numerous other areas as well as recording a team-best 23-game hitting streak.
Rowley was even more dominant in league play, hitting .442 with five home runs.
Rensberger was the most consistent Lady Statesmen batter, posting a squad-high .389 batting average (56-of-144). The lone senior, she had two doubles, ten RBIs, 34 runs scored, and tallied a seven-game hitting streak.
Rensberger also stepped up in MCC competition with a .418 clip.
Labbe fought through a shoulder injury to post big numbers. The sophomore hit .333 (30-of-90) with one double, one triple, one home run, 20 RBIs, and 19 runs scored. She managed six straight games with a hit at one point.
Jordan Story of Waldorf was tabbed as the MCC’s Player of the Year, while Andrea Tsilis of Viterbo earned Coach of the Year laurels by her peers.
Green Wins Three Events for League Award
Oskaloosa–Gabriel Green (So., Anniston, Ala., Anniston HS) dominated the sprints at the league championships and for his efforts he was named the Midwest Collegiate Conference Men’s Track Athlete of the Week.
Green won the 100, 200, and 400-meter dash races en route to being named MCC Male Track Athlete of the Year. It is his third MCC weekly laurel of the season and fifth of his career.
The sophomore, who had already qualified in the 200, bettered his time in the event with an ‘A’ qualifying standard and school-record time of 21.47 seconds. He also met an ‘A’ mark in the 100 with a time of 10.65 seconds.
Green, running in the 400 for the first time this spring, crossed the line with a time of 49.91 seconds.
He also helped the 4×100-meter relay team to second place at 42.47 seconds.
The award is the third for the William Penn track teams in the outdoor season, but it is the seventh overall, including four during the indoor campaign.
Lady Statesmen Obtain One Vote in Final Poll
Oskaloosa–The 2011 William Penn softball campaign may be finished, but the team is still being recognized nationally as the final NAIA softball ranking was released today.
The Lady Statesmen (35-16) received one vote to be tied for 41st.
California Baptist (59-3) went wire-to-wire as the nation’s #1 and had 653 points and all 23 first-place votes this week. Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.), William Carey (Miss.), Cal State-San Marcos, and Central Baptist (Ark.) round out the top five.
Morningside tops the two Iowa institutions in 28th place with 72 votes.
