[Softball] Softball Places Six on All-GPAC List

After a year in which no honors were awarded by the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) for spring sports, Doane Softball placed six players on the 2021 all-conference list. The Tigers jumped from ninth in the conference in 2019 to a fifth place finish in the GPAC this season, finishing 26-24 overall and 12-10 in the GPAC.

Leading the charge was a pair of Second Team All-GPAC selections in Josie Schnakenberg (JR/Wahoo, Neb.) and Shelby Downard (SO/Marysville, Kan.). Four Tigers earned honorable mention honors, Kailyn Wiseman (JR/Sutton, Neb.), Megan Elliott (FR/Simi Valley, Calif.), Kayla Miller (FR/Yuciapa, Cali.), and Alicia Vint (SO/Onalaska, Wash.).

Schnakenberg put herself atop the charts in the GPAC this season and on the Doane game, season, and career charts as she closed out her career. She finished second in the conference in strikeouts with 181, also ranking second-most in a season at Doane. Her 8.12 strikeouts per game is the most in program history. Schnakenberg posted a 2.87 earned run average this year with 14 wins while holding opponents to a .245 batting average, all Top 10 marks in the GPAC. Her career line is 43-40 with a 2.88 earned run average, eight shutouts, an opponent's batting average of .265, and 440 strikeouts. All stats rank in the Top 5 of the Doane career pitching charts.

Downard completed her first year with the Tigers and was a dual threat. With the bat, she hit .340 with 15 doubles (one shy of the school record) and 11 home runs (two shy of the school record). She posted a .681 slugging percentage and 1.094 OPS (on-base plus slugging). In the pitcher's circle, Downard posted eight wins with a 3.90 earned run average and 83 strikeouts.

Wiseman was one of four players to start all 50 games this season, finishing with a .284 batting average and a .394 on-base percentage. She was fourth in the conference in stolen bases with 18 on the year, scoring 25 runs and driving in 21. Her 26 walks was a single-season Doane record.  Wiseman closes out her career with 43 career stolen bases, tied for fifth-most at Doane. She had seven outfield assists defensively.

Elliott posted a .316 batting average with four home runs and 23 runs driven in. She recorded 292 putouts defensively at first base, ranking third in the GPAC this year. Her .974 fielding percentage was 18th in the conference this year.

Miller finished with a team-leading .358 batting average with six home runs and 34 runs driven in, fourth-most by a freshman in program history. She recorded 284 defensive putouts behind the plate, fourth-most in the GPAC, while posting a .990 fielding percentage, seventh-best in the GPAC.

Vint notched a .336 batting average with 42 hits, including two triples. She recorded a team-high eight sacrifice bunts, seventh-most in the GPAC and three more than a conference opponent had as a team on the year.