May 6, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today the Central College senior catcher Kelly Harris (LeClaire, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) has been named the 2008 IIAC Softball Player of the Year, Wartburg College junior Angela Hartwig (Long Grove, Iowa/North Scott) has been named the 2008 IIAC Softball Pitcher of the Year and Wartburg College head coach Kara Kehe has been named 2008 IIAC Softball Coach of the Year. In addition, retiring Buena Vista University head coach Marge Willadsen received honorary IIAC Softball Coach of the Year accolades from her peers.

Harris finished the year with a .462 batting average, nine home runs, 30 RBI and a .798 slugging percentage in 40 games. She ranks among Conference leaders in most offensive categories, including leading the IIAC in slugging percentage (.798), on base percentage (.549), runs scored (49). Harris ranks second in batting average (.462), hits (55), home runs (9), stolen bases (19) and total bases (95).

In 16 Conference games, Harris hit .417 with three home runs, 10 RBI, a .688 slugging percentage and a .525 on-base percentage. She led the Conference in on-base percentage, runs scored (17) and stolen bases (9), while ranking second in hits (20) and batting average.

She also rewrote large portions of the Central College softball record book this year, setting school career records for batting average (.379), slugging percentage (.577 in 485 AB), stolen base percentage (.866), runs scored (145), total bases (280) and baserunners picked off (48) and single-season marks for runs scored (49), home runs (9), total bases (95) and slugging percentage (.798). She also ranks second all-time in career triples (tie, 11), home runs (15) and RBI (112), fourth in hits (tie, 184), and fifth in doubles (tie, 29).

Hartwig enters the NCAA Tournament with a 19-1 record, a 0.63 ERA, 141 strikeouts, six shutouts (eight combined) and 13 complete games in 23 appearances (17 starts). She leads the IIAC in ERA, wins, and saves (3), while ranking second in opponents’ batting average (.141) and third in strikeouts.

Hartwig started eight of 16 Iowa Conference games for Wartburg, finishing with a 9-0 record, a 0.48 ERA and 71 strikeouts. She pitched six complete games and all or part of three Knight shutouts while holding opponents to a .111 batting average. She also recorded three saves. Hartwig led the IIAC in ERA, opposing batting average and saves and ranked second in wins and third in strikeouts.

Kehe guided Wartburg to its second Iowa Conference softball title in three years, just its third overall, and its third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance (seventh overall). The Knights enter the NCAA Tournament with a 29-6 overall record, including a 15-1 Conference mark, and will look to crack 30 wins for the fifth consecutive season. Kehe captured her 250th career victory this season with a 4-1 win over Cornell in the Knights’ April 26 regular-season finale.

Willadsen, a four-time Iowa Conference Coach of the Year and two-time National Coach of the Year, announced last September she was retiring following the 2008 season. Arriving on the Storm Lake campus in 1979, she compiled a 569-447-2 record, ranking her in the top-10 among active Division III coaches in terms of victories. Willadsen led the Beavers to the school’s only national championship in any sport in 1984 while also posting two national runner-up finishes (1983 and 1992), six Iowa Conference Championships - including three straight from 1994-1996 - and five Regional Championships (1983, 1984, 1989, 1992, 1994). Willadsen will continue on as an administrator within the BVU athletic department.

The IIAC also announced today the 2008 All-Iowa Conference Softball Team. The 26-member Team includes 14 repeat All-Conference performers including Harris and Simpson’s Calie Hohneke who become the 17th and 18th four-time All-Conference selections, respectively. Conference tournament runner-up Coe had a league-high six All-Conference performers. 2008 Iowa Conference champion Wartburg had five All-Conference players, including four First Team members.

The complete 2008 IIAC Softball All-Conference Team can be found here.

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