Gophers Garner B1G Softball Honors

Softball | 5/11/2022 9:00:00 AM

MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota had six student-athletes honored with postseason awards from the Big Ten Conference it was announced Wednesday morning as voted upon by the league’s head coaches. Natalie DenHartog and Chloe Evans headlined for the Maroon & Gold earning All-B1G Second Team Honors. Emily Leavitt landed on the All-Freshman Team, while the left side of the Gophers infield featuring Kayla Chavez and Makenna Dowell were named to the All-Defensive Team. Ali Lindner represents the team as the honoree for the Sportsmanship Award.
 
DenHartog led Minnesota in home runs and ranked third in the conference hitting 18 during the regular season to land her third career B1G honor. She registered back-to-back, two home run efforts against DePaul and Tulsa on the same day, as she became the all-time home run leader in program history. The senior ranks 30th in the nation recording 117 total bases with a .736 slugging percentage as she started all 50 games in center field and added a .340 batting average. Hailing from Hopkins, Minn., DenHartog stole 14 bases in 14 attempts for the year, pacing the Gophers to go with nearly a run scored per game, posting a team-best 48.
 
Evans was a force at the plate in 2022 powering the Gophers with 44 RBI in 50 starts and tied for the team lead, drawing 25 walks earning an all-conference nod for the first time in her career. A native of Seymour, Wis., she put together four outings of a career-best four RBI and tallied 13 games with multiple RBI thanks to double-digit home runs. The sophomore consistently found herself on the base paths reaching base safely in 40 of 50 games this season behind a .336 batting average and a .440 on-base percentage. Evans scored 32 runs and her 11 doubles and one triple were both tied for the most by a Gopher.
 
Leavitt earned the starting nod in the circle opening day and never shied away from Minnesota’s challenging schedule on her way to a 14-9 record and a 4.60 earned run average across 156.2 innings. She picked up shutout victories over UNI (Feb. 25) and Northwestern (May 6) and tallied one save to end up on the All-Freshman Team. The Chino, Calif., native won three-straight starts in February and added five wins over the final two weeks of the regular season. Leavitt closed the year as the D1Softball National Pitcher of the Week May 9 after a 3-0 week with two wins over Wisconsin and a complete-game shutout of the No. 6 Wildcats. She struck out a season-high 10 against the Badgers and had 12 outings with at least five strikeouts in her first college season.
 
Chavez has had a remarkable start to her collegiate career covering the hot corner at third base and was calm and collected on her way to All-Defensive Team honors, as the only freshman to make the list. The Chino Hills, Calif., product was perfect in the field during conference play and has posted a .992 fielding percentage over the course of 2022 making just one error in 123 chances. The freshman was a part of six double plays for Minnesota.
 
Dowell showed she was one of the best defensive players in the country making the most difficult plays look routine at shortstop tallying a .974 fielding percentage. The Suwanee, Ga., native started every game for the Gophers and made highlight-reel plays that drew national attention nearly every week. The graduate senior helped the Maroon & Gold turn 11 double plays from her spot on the field earning All-Defensive Team accolades making only four errors in more than 150 chances.
 
Lindner was given the Sportsmanship Award in her final season with the Gophers as she appeared in 17 games with one start. A native of Sioux Falls, S.D., she posted a .429 on-base percentage by drawing five walks and was hit-by-pitch three times, while adding three runs scored and a stolen base.
 
First Team All-Big Ten
Avrey Steiner, Sr., 2B, Illinois
Cora Bassett, Sr., 2B, Indiana
Jaeda McFarland, So., OF, Maryland
Lexie Blair, Sr., 1B, Michigan
Alex Storako, Sr., P, Michigan
Abbie Squier, So., OF, Nebraska
Cam Ybarra, Sr., 2B, Nebraska
Hannah Cady, So., 3B, Northwestern
Nikki Cuchran, Sr., 1B, Northwestern
Rachel Lewis, Grad., OF, Northwestern
Jordyn Rudd, Sr., C, Northwestern
Danielle Williams, Sr., P, Northwestern
Niki Carver, Sr., 1B, Ohio State
Bailey Parshall, Sr., P, Penn State
Rachel Becker, Sr., SS, Purdue
Gabrielle Callaway, Grad., OF, Rutgers
Kyleigh Sand, So., SS, Rutgers
Kayla Konwent, Sr., DP, Wisconsin
 
Second Team All-Big Ten*
Kailee Powell, Sr., 1B, Illinois
Sydney Sickels, Sr., P, Illinois
Taylor Minnick, Fr., OF, Indiana
Megan Mikami, So., OF, Maryland
Hannah Carson, Sr., C, Michigan
Audrey LeClair, Jr. OF, Michigan
Melina Livingston, Grad., 2B, Michigan
Natalie DenHartog, Sr., OF, Minnesota
Chloe Evans, So., OF, Minnesota
Billie Andrews, So., SS, Nebraska
Mya Felder, Jr., 1B, Nebraska
Olivia Ferrell, Sr., P, Nebraska
Maeve Nelson, Sr., SS, Northwestern
Skylar Shellmyer, Sr., OF, Northwestern
Sam Hackenbracht, Jr., DP, Ohio State
Lexie Handley, Sr., P, Ohio State
Cassie Lindmark, Jr., C, Penn State
Fiona Girardot, Jr., 1B, Wisconsin
Ally Miklesh, Sr., OF, Wisconsin
Maddie Schwartz, Sr., P, Wisconsin
* – additional players due to ties
 
Big Ten All-Freshman Team
Paige Berkmeyer, UT, Illinois
Stevie Meade, OF, Illinois
Lauren Wiles, P, Illinois
Heather Johnson, P, Indiana
Taylor Minnick, OF, Indiana
Ellie Sieler, OF, Michigan
Emily Leavitt, P, Minnesota
Ava Bredwell, C, Nebraska
Grace Nieto, 2B, Northwestern
Kami Kortokrax, SS, Ohio State
Melina Wilkison, OF, Ohio State
 
Big Ten All-Defensive Team
P: Courtney Wallace, Sr., Nebraska
C: Jordyn Rudd, Jr., Northwestern
1B: Mya Felder, Jr., Nebraska
2B: Cam Ybarra, Sr., Nebraska
SS: Makenna Dowell, Grad., Minnesota
3B: Kayla Chavez, Fr., Minnesota
OF: Kristina Burkhardt, Grad., Michigan
OF: Abbie Squier, So., Nebraska
OF: Lilia Crouthamel, Sr., Penn State
 
Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Lakyn Wagoner, ILL
Grayson Radcliffe, IND
Kate Claypool, IOWA
Megan Mikami, MD
Lexi Voss, MICH
Marissa Trivelpiece, MSU
Ali Lindner, MINN
Karlee Seevers, NEB
Lauren Caldrone, NU
Avery Clark, OSU
Claire Swedberg, PSU
Kaeley Hallada, PUR
Gabrielle Callaway, RU
Morgan Kummer, WIS
 
Player of the Year: Rachel Lewis, Grad., OF, Northwestern
Pitcher of the Year: Danielle Williams, Sr., P, Northwestern
Freshman of the Year: Ava Bredwell, C, Nebraska
Coach of the Year: Kate Drohan, Northwestern