Locals highlight all-IIAC squads

By Eric Page | Friday, May 16, 2008

Players from area high schools dominated the All-Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams, which were released Tuesday.

Six of 13 players on the first team were from the Quad-City region, including four from the Mississippi Athletic Conference.

Central College senior Kelly Harris, a catcher out of Pleasant Valley, was named the league’s player of the year, while Wartburg junior Angela Hartwig, from North Scott, was the conference pitcher of the year.

They were joined on the first team by Wartburg’s Ashley Steines, a senior from Camanche, Iowa; Central’s Hannah Weindruch, a junior from Pleasant Valley;  Cornell’s Nicole Duncan, a freshman from Wilton; and Dubuque’s Megan Burda, a junior out of Davenport West.

Central’s Afton Nelson, a sophomore shortstop from Pleasant Valley, was second-team all-conference, while Cornell’s Ashton Horn was honorable mention. Horn played her high school ball at Davenport West.

Harris batted .462 in her final season at Central, leading the Dutch to a 24-16 record and breaking several school records along the way. Hartwig went 19-1 with an IIAC-best 0.63 ERA in 23 appearances. She struck out 141 batters in 1221/3 innings, helping the Knights to a 29-6 record and regular-season and conference tournament titles.

Hartwig and Steines, who along with Harris also were named first-team All-Midwest Region by the NFCA, will lead Wartburg into the Augustana Regional on Thursday in Rock Island.

NCAA Regional

Augustana College will host an NCAA softball regional Thursday-Saturday. Here is a schedule of games for the first day:

Thursday

DePauw vs. Maryville, 10 a.m.

Washington vs. Tri-State, noon

Wis.-Whitewater vs. Coe, 2 p.m.

Alma vs. Warburg, 4 p.m.



Eric Page can be contacted at (563) 383-2277 or epage@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.