Poegel, Mogaard, Mix and Li earn major softball awards for Lakers
Sports | Published on July 10, 2023 at 3:06pm CDT
The Minnewaska Area softball team announced its season-ending awards recently. The Lakers finished 2-14 overall this season, which included a 2-10 mark in the WCC to tie with Montevideo and Benson for sixth place.
The Lakers beat Montevideo and Benson by identical 8-7 scores for their only wins. Morris Area won the league title with a perfect 12-0 record, followed by West Central Area and Melrose Area (both 9-3), Sauk Centre (6-6), and Montevideo, Benson and Minnewaska (all 2-10).
Junior Ally Mogard earned Team MVP honors this season for the Lakers. She batted .324 this year with an on-base percentage of .489.
Earning All-Conference honors this year was ninth-grader Emma Poegel, while sophomore Mataya Mix was named to the honorable mention team. Poegel also earned the Laker Pride Award this spring, while junior Xi Li earned the Most Improved Award.
Poegel led the Lakers with a .419 batting average and .490 on-base percentage. She also had team highs of 49 plate appearances, four doubles (tied with Mogard) and one triple (tied with Jenna Drewes).
The only pitchers for the Lakers this season were Mix (1-10 overall record) and senior Leslie Murken (1-4).
Seniors lost to graduation from this year’s team, coached by Jason Weber and Jacalyn Skoglund, are Leslie Murken and Kylee Klassen.
This year’s varsity softball roster included seniors Leslie Murken (ss, 3b, of, p) and Kylee Klassen (of); juniors Jenna Drewes (of), Grace Larson (c, 3b, 1b, of), Ally Mogard (2b), Melanie Lara (of), Emara Sanow (of) and Trelana Johnson (of); sophomores Morgan Meyer (of, c), Lauren Stryhn (1b), Mataya Mix (p, 1b) and Annahbelle Ernst (of); and ninth-graders Mesa Kittelson (2b, of), Ella Roering (ss, 3b, 2b), Ava Staples (c, p, of, 1b) and Emma Poegel (c, 3b, of).
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