PELLA— Catcher
Rylee Dunkin (sophomore, Hamilton, Twin Ceders HS), shortstop
Haley Bach (senior, Council Bluffs, Lewis Central HS) and right fielder
Mariah Parton (junior, Ankeny) were the first-team all-American Rivers Conference selections from the Central College softball team.
Designated player
Alexa Anderson (senior, Mount Ayr) and pitcher
Emma Beck (junior, Holland, Grundy Center HS) were cited as honorable mention.
Central, 26-11 overall, posted a 9-7 conference mark. The Dutch open play Thursday in the NCAA Division III Championships in a four-team regional in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It's the 33rd NCAA tourney appearance for the squad.
Dunkin hit .385 in conference games with a .926 OPS. She had 15 hits and scored 15 times while also collecting 11 RBIs. She was also 9-for-10 on stolen base attempts which led the conference. Defensively she had a .969 fielding percentage and threw out two runners attempting to steal.
Bach led the A-R-C with a .586 batting average. She also had a .703 slugging percentage and .644 on-base percentage, which also led the conference to combine for a 1.347 OPS. She collected 21 hits, scored 14 times and had 13 RBIs. Bach was second in the A-R-C with eight steals. Defensively she had a .925 fielding percentage with 19 assists.
Parton started all 16 conference games and hit .408. She racked up 20 hits, 14 runs and 11 RBIs. She was also 7-8 stealing bases and had a 1.000 fielding percentage including three assists from right field. Parton also hit four triples this season in A-R-C games which led the conference.
Anderson was one of the two honorable mention selections. In conference games she hit .368 and had a .553 slugging percentage. She also hit two home runs including a walk-off three-run home run to defeat the University of Dubuque on May 4.
Beck was the final honoree for the squad and despite her season being cut short with an injury, she still pitched 44 innings and threw four complete games and two shoutouts. Beck threw the first no-hitter for Central since 2002 when she no-hit Buena Vista University on April 8. In that game she had a season-high nine strikeouts. On the season in conference games, she had a 5.53 ERA and struck out 22 hitters.
