Augustana head softball coach Gretta Melsted was named Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coach of the Year and four play players earned All-Conference honors, announced the NSIC head office Thursday.
Senior Ally Rutherford and sophomore Traci Fransen earned first team All-Conference honors, while freshmen Britt Stewart and Chelsey Durland were named second team All-Conference.
Melsted earned NSIC Coach of the Year honors after posting a 29-21 overall record this season. The Vikings finished second in the conference after posting a 20-5 conference record, after Augustana was picked to finish seventh in the NSIC pre-season coaches poll. Augie started the season 1-11 and came back from its spring break trip to Florida 5-12. Since the trip, Augie finished the season winning 24 of its last 33 games.
The Vikings have improved its record every season Melsted has directed the Vikings. She is now 62-72 with the Vikings and 143-163 overall in her career.
Rutherford earned first team All-Conference honors after finishing the season with the sixth highest batting average in the conference (.385) and was third in slugging percentage (.712). She led the conference in runs (49), doubles (22) and was seventh in RBI (39), fifth in home runs (9), third in total bases (111) and tied for second in stolen bases (19). She was first in conference games with 31 runs scored and doubles with 12, while she was fourth in stolen bases (9) and total bases (54).
Fransen was also named first team All-Conference, as she finished sixth in conference games with a .418 average. Also in conference games, she was fourth in on base percentage (.500), second in slugging percentage (.731), ninth in runs scored (21), third in RBI (22), fourth in doubles (9) and tied for eighth in total bases (49).
Stewart was named second team All-Conference as she finished the season with a .304 batting average while collecting 28 hits and 16 runs. She also hit four home runs and drove in 20 runs. Stewart (9-7) was just as effective in the pitcher's circle, throwing a team-high 97 2/3 innings. Stewart was sixth in conference games with a 1.94 ERA and fourth in holding opponents to a .217 batting average. She ended the regular season with a 2.94 ERA after recording 22 appearances, 13 starts and nine complete games. She pitched two shutouts, recorded one save and led the team with 66 strikeouts.
Durland was also named second team All-Conference. Durland (10-4) was a solid starting pitcher for the Vikings, going 94 1/3 innings during the regular season. She was fifth in the conference in ERA (1.86) and tenth in wins (10). In conference games, Durland had the fourth best ERA at 1.59 and was seventh with eight wins. She led the Vikings in games started (16) complete games (12) and shutouts (4), while striking out 46.
