Dutch land five on all-conference softball team
Central College
PELLA — Central College softball second baseman Abbey Strajack (senior, Davenport, Assumption HS) was named the Iowa Conference position player of the year Wednesday to headline a group of five Dutch players on the all-conference squad.
Joining Strajack on the first team was designated player Karlee Rock (senior, Wheatland, Calamus-Wheatland HS). Pitcher Mallory Schulenberg (senior, Kansas City, Mo., St. Pius X HS), third baseman Whitney Sowers (senior, Marshalltown) and shortstop Paige Schreiner (junior, Ottumwa) were second-team selections.
Strajack leads the Dutch in batting average (.493), runs (47), hits (67) and stolen bases (18). She is Central’s career leader in both hits (212) and runs (146) and was an all-league selection in 2012 and 2014. Strajack is the 12th league player of the year in Dutch history.
Rock’s 14 home runs are tied for the fourth most in Division III and her 53 RBIs rank eighth. Both are new single-season records at Central. The designated player was also a first team selection last season.
Schulenberg is 13-6 with a 2.70 ERA in the circle for the Dutch this season. She has struck out 82 hitters in 121.2 innings on the year while throwing 10 complete games. The Central ace was a first-team all-league selection in 2013.
Sowers is hitting .400 this year and leads the team in doubles (12) and walks (32). This is the fourth consecutive all-conference selection for the Dutch third baseman.
Schreiner has 14 extra-base hits, including four home runs and eight doubles. She has scored 14 runs and has a .331 on-base percentage.
Central finished in second place in the league standings and won the league tournament, defeating top-seed Luther 8-2 in the title game. The Dutch will host a four-team regional in the NCAA Division III tournament Friday through Sunday.
