May 6, 2009

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Coe College senior shortstop Ashley Leonard (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy) has been named the 2009 IIAC Softball Position Player of the Year, Central College senior Megan Swingen (Woden, Iowa/Woden-Crystal Lake) has been named the 2009 IIAC Softball Pitcher of the Year and Central College head coach George Wares and Coe College head coach Bob Timmons have been named co-recipients of 2009 IIAC Softball Coach of the Year honors.

Leonard led the Iowa Conference with a .424 batting average, seven home runs, 29 RBI and a .698 slugging percentage in 44 games. She ranks among the Conference leaders in most offensive categories, including leading the IIAC in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage (.500), hits (59), and runs scored (56). She also ranked second in hme runs, triples (4), and total bases (97), and fourth in stolen bases (21).

In 16 Conference games, Leonard hit .378 with four home runs, 11 RBI, a .756 slugging percentage, and a .491 on-base percentage. She led the Conference in home runs, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored (19), and total bases (34) and ranked sixth in batting average.

She also rewrote large portions of the Coe College softball record book this year, setting school career records for hits (223), runs scored (151), and at-bats (576). She also ranks second all-time in career stolen bases (54), third in batting average (.387), fourth in doubles (38), and fifth in home runs (19).

Swingen enters the NCAA Tournament with a 16-1 record, a 1.34 ERA, 50 strikeouts, two shutouts (seven combined) and five complete games in 23 appearances (17 starts). She ranked third in the IIAC in saves (3), fourth in wins, fifth in ERA, and eighth in opposing batting average (.220).

Swingen started seven of 16 Iowa Conference games for Central, finishing with a 7-0 record, an 0.54 ERA and 21 strikeouts. She pitched three complete games and all or part of five Dutch shutouts while holding opponents to a .176 batting average. Swingen led the IIAC in ERA and wins and ranked fifth in opposing batting average.

Wares guided Central to its 10th Iowa Conference title overall and its first since 2004, as well as its first NCAA Division III Championship appearance since 2006 (21st overall). The Dutch enter the NCAA Tournament with a 36-6 record, including a 13-3 mark in conference play, cracking the 30-win plateau for the first time since 2006. This is the seventh time Wares has been honored by his peers (1990, 1993, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004).

Timmons, now a three-time Iowa Conference Coach of the Year, guided Coe to its first Iowa Conference Tournament title and the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Championship. The Kohawks head into the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive year (10th overall) with a 34-10 record, including a 12-4 mark in league play. Earlier this season, Timmons moved past Dr. June Walker, who posted 721 victories at TCNJ, into third place on the NCAA Division III career victories list. He now trails only Donna Newberry of Muskingum (884 career victories) and Central’s George Wares (840 wins entering NCAAs). He enters the 2009 NCAA Tournament with 751 wins between coaching stints at Mount Mercy (1983-94) and Coe (1998-present).

The IIAC also announced today the 2009 All-Iowa Conference Softball Team. The 26-member Team includes 10 repeat All-Conference performers – including Leonard – who becomes the 19th four-time All-Conference selection. Conference tournament runner-up Luther had a league-high six All-Conference performers. 2009 Iowa Conference champion Central had five All-Conference players, including four First Team members, while IIAC tournament champion Coe had four players selected.

The complete 2009 IIAC Softball All-Conference Team can be found here.

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