WAVERLY, Iowa— With the No. 4 seeded in the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) tournament, the Wartburg Knights softball squad begin their quest for the league's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
The Knights (24-12, 9-7 A-R-C) will face the Norse of Luther College (21-13, 8-8 A-R-C) at 2 p.m. on May 6 in Storm Lake. The winner of the game will face the No. 1-seeded Buena Vista (26-12) at 11 a.m. on May 7.
Looking at the Norse
The Knights and Norse faced off on April 6 in Waverly, as the Knights swept the Norse for the first time since the 2008 season.
Since the meeting the Knights, the Norse have swept Nebraska Wesleyan and Simpson. The Spartans of Dubuque were the only team to sweep the Norse besides Wartburg this season.
The Norse are led by Emily Fell (.398 average, 22 runs, 41 hits) and Sydney Schultz (.322 average, 27 runs, 37 hits). Abby Spore (.351 average) leads the Norse in RBIs at 28, recording 17 walks.
The Norse have an average of .304 (fifth in the A-R-C) and are tied for second in the conference in doubles (62). The Norse have the lowest ERA in the conference 2.22 and have recorded 11 shutouts and has a .961 fielding percentage (No. 3 in the conference).
Looking at the Knights Numbers
Kaylie Springer leads the Knights with a .406 average, 34 runs (second on the team), and 54 hits this season. Sydney Illg sits at a .308 average, leads the teams in runs (36), and has eight home runs for the Knights. Ella Link (.372 average) leads the team and the conference in home runs with 10.
Madison Hiestand leads the Knights with a 2.95 ERA, while Ashley Nelson has a 3.39 ERA and four complete games.
The Knights offense has a .331 average (tied for first in the conference), leads the conference in home runs (39), runs (253), and RBIs (217). The Knights have a slugging percentage of .517 and on-base percentage of. 414. The Knights pitching has recorded a 3.76 ERA combined with five shutouts recorded.
Eyes on the Records
Illg sits at 139 career runs scored, tying Ashley Steines at third for most runs scored.
The school record is set at 143 by Ashley Rogers. Illg moved into No. 4 in the career home runs, sitting at 23 homers, and sits at No. 7 in RBIs with 99.
Springer moved up the record book, joining a tie for fifth in stolen bases (45). Springer sits at No. 2 with 42 stolen bases in a season, only six off Liz Roby-Miklus's 51 stolen bases in 2019.
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