RIPON, WIS. (06/07/2017) Ripon's softball team recently received a trio of All-America Scholar Athlete awards from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), as seniors Stephanie Cartwright and Haylea Hoskins and sophomore Lexi Reetz each earned the distinction.
In order to qualify for All-America Scholar Athlete honors, a student-athletes must achieve a cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.5 or better during the past two semesters.
"Within our program, we really stress the importance of academics," Ripon Head Softball Coach Brooke Kalman said. "I think this award speaks to the players' overall work ethic, not only on the softball diamond, but also in the classroom."
A Biology major, Cartwright started all 36 games for the Red Hawks this
season, batting .265 with a team-high 30 hits. The Marengo, Ill. product also tied for the team lead for runs scored (12) and was third in doubles (4), to go along with seven RBI.
Hoskins is a Business Management major from Spring Grove, Ill. She finished her Red Hawks career with 30 hits, 15 RBI, and 17 runs scored.
A Psychology major from Oshkosh, Wis., Reetz has received All-Conference honors in each of the last two years. She finished this season with the second-most single season strikeouts in program history (142), while also recording the ninth-best single season ERA by a Ripon player (2.11). In addition to that, Reetz finished this season tied for the team lead in runs scored (12) and third in doubles (4), to go along with six RBI. After just two seasons,
Reetz has compiled 243 career strikeouts as a pitcher, which ranks fourth in program history. She also already ranks eighth in school history for career EA (3.06), ninth for innings pitched (260.2), and 10th for complete games (31).