Softball Earns Four NJCAA All-Americans
CEDAR RAPIDS -- A total of four players from the Kirkwood softball team earned All-American honors for their efforts this season, announced yesterday by the NJCAA.
Sophomore DoniRae Mayhew and freshman Lauren Kuch earned First Team All-American recognition, while freshman Rachel Stewart and sophomore Monika Bevans were Second Team and Third Team All-Americans, respectively.
Mayhew, a pitcher/infielder and University of Iowa commit, was recently named the 2018 NFCA National Player of the Year. The NJCAA DII home run champion, clocked 30 long balls and also topped the national charts with 90 RBI and 191 total bases. She ranked second with a 1.079 slugging percentage and 82 runs scored. Mayhew, who garnered Iowa Community College Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors, batted .446 with 79 hits, 18 doubles, 29 walks and a .538 on-base percentage.
In the circle, Mayhew was 20-3 with a staff-best 2.08 ERA and four shutouts. She struck out 127 and allowed just 11 extra-base hits in 148 innings of work. Her 20 victories were 10th-best in NJCAA DII.
Kuch, an NFCA First Team All-American and Region XI First Team All-Region performer, was third on the team in hits (84), RBI (68), and hitting with a .469 batting average. Kuch was a stable force in the outfield for the Eagles, accumulating a .947 fielding percentage and committing only three errors.
Stewart, the Region XI Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Region member, started in all 62 games for the Eagles, leading them in hits, (100), runs (102), doubles (22), and on-base percentage (.557), while ranking third in home runs (13) and slugging percentage (.782). Stewart was spectacular in the infield for the Eagles this season, earning a .933 fielding percentage with 125 assists and five double plays.
Bevans, another First Team All-Region XI performer, finished second in NJCAA DII with 79 RBI, fifth in home runs (18), seventh in hits (86) and 10th in slugging percentage (.948). Bevans garnered a .993 fielding percentage behind the plate.
