Central lands three on softball all-region team
Central College
PELLA — Three Central College softball players were tabbed for the NFCA Division III All-Midwest Region team.
Pitcher Mallory Schulenberg (sophomore, Kansas City, Mo., St. Pius X HS) and catcher Caitlyn Meyer (senior, Newton) were first-team selections while right fielder Emily Te Brink (senior, Le Mars) was named to the third team. First-team picks are eligible to be chosen to the NFCA all-America squad which will be announced at the national tournament banquet in Eau Claire, Wis. Thursday night.
Meyer, who was an at-large pick, was earlier named the position player of the year in the Iowa Conference after leading the league in 14 conference games in hitting (.548), home runs (6) and RBIs (19), among other categories. A Central team co-captain, she’s hitting .380 for the season with five doubles, a team-high eight home runs and 28 RBIs. She has a .471 on-base percentage and a .670 slugging percentage. Meyer has thrown out eight would-be base stealers and picked off three runners.
Schulenberg, who was earlier named a first-team all-conference honoree, has a 16-2 record with a 1.27 earned run average. She posted a 4-0 mark at the NCAA Division III Pella Regional, allowing just two earned runs, and was named the tournament’s outstanding player. She’s walked 28 batters and struck out 75 in 110.2 innings. Schulenberg was named the conference pitcher of the week three times. She has an overall collegiate record of 26-2.
Te Brink was named to the all-region third team for the second straight year. She was also a second-team all-conference pick. She’s hitting .351 with a team-high 38 runs scored, with four doubles, two triples and one homer while driving in 14 runs. She also boasts a .923 fielding percentage and is the team’s stolen base leader with 18 in 20 attempts.
Central, 32-8, captured the eight-team NCAA Division III Pella Regional tournament over the weekend, advancing to the eight-team NCAA finals Friday through Monday at Eau Claire, Wis. The No. 16-rated Dutch open against No. 3 Montclair State (N.J.) (45-3) Friday at 6:30 p.m.
