[Softball] Brown and Farrell top Heart All-Conference Honors

KANSAS CITY, Mo.- Regular season champion Grand View claimed two of the top individual honors and honored a total of six athletes when the 2017 Heart of America Athletic Conference Softball postseason awards were announced on Monday.Complete List

Junior RHP Claudia Farrell (JR/Des Moines, Iowa) was named the Heart Pitcher of the Year for the second-straight season, while senior INF Devin Brown (SR/Indianola, Iowa) claimed the Player of the Year award.

After sharing the award last season, Farrell was honored as the top pitcher in 2017 along with first team All-Conference. The Des Moines, Iowa native heads into the NAIA Softball World Series Opening Round with a 24-5 record and 1.19 ERA. She has recorded 220 strikeouts in 182.0 innings, nine shutouts and allowed a .191 batting average to opposing hitters. Farrell currently ranks No. 6 in the NAIA for wins (24).

Leading the offense for the Vikings is Brown, who earned first team All-Conference. Brown owns a team-leading .407 batting average and has scored 59 runs. Brown also shares the team lead with six home runs to go along with 23 doubles, 25 RBI, 120 total bases and 22 stolen bases. Brown currently ranks No. 4 in the NAIA in total doubles.

Freshman INF, Lexi Merritt, also earned first team All-Conference for the Vikings. Merritt records 16 doubles, 5 home runs, 53 RBI and has scored 35 runs. Merrit was selected as the top defensive as the first baseman and was also honored for her outstanding play by being named to the Gold Glove team.

Senior OF, Lexie Biehl (JR/Maquoketa, Iowa) earned first team All-Conference honors, recording 56 hits, 35 runs, 31 RBI and 6 home runs, and committing only one error on the season for the Vikings.

Junior Kate Crow (JR/Ames, Iowa) was selected first team All-Conference as a DP. Crow has a batting average of .401 and scored 30 runs along with recorded 48 RBI, 67 hits and 28 doubles. Crow currently ranks No. 1 in the NAIA for doubles.

Senior catcher Kristen Webb (SR/Pleasant Hill, Iowa) earned honorable mention honors, playing in 34 games, recording 11 RBI and 21 hits for the Vikings.

The Vikings will next appear in the NAIA Open Round, with the selection show on May 10th at 6pm. Opening round schedule

For the complete Opening Round schedule, clickhere.
For more championship information, clickhere.