Five Linfield University softball players earned College Sports Communicators NCAA Division III Academic All-District honors in a release announced on Tuesday.
Kaili Saathoff and
Brynn Nelson are repeat selections while
Cydney Hess,
Sophia vanderSommen and
Ashlyn Aven are all making their first appearances on the list.
Linfield and Lewis & Clark led the Northwest Conference with five selections each while Pacific Lutheran and Whitworth each had four.
An Academic All-American and Elite 90 award winner, Saathoff a Mathematics and Physics double major is second on the team batting average at .493. She's racked up 75 hits, 42 RBIs, three triples, 18 stolen bases and ranks inside the top three nationally in doubles with 23. Saathoff was named first-team All-NWC and NFCA first-team All-Region X.
The NWC Player of the Year and fellow first-team All-Region selection, Nelson is also a double major in Mathematics and Economics. In her junior season, she started all 50 games for the Wildcats and totaled 70 hits, 12 doubles, 14 home runs and 60 RBIs. The Bonney Lake, Wash., native leads the 'Cats in OPS at 1.414 and batting average at .496.
Hess is majoring in accounting and ranks second nationally in RBIs with 70. She's started all 50 games and holds a .401 batting average with 65 hits, 17 doubles and 10 home runs.
Aven made 45 appearances and 41 starts as Linfield's designated player. She holds a .262 batting average with 33 hits, six doubles, three home runs and 33 RBIs. The Yelm, Wash., native is a double major in Exercise Science and Secondary Physical Education.
Vandersommen holds a .258 batting average in 46 starts. The accounting major and Tigard, Ore., native has racked up 32 runs, 31 hits, four doubles, two home runs and 19 RBIs.
The top-ranked Wildcats made the NCAA Division III Softball Championship after defeating Central College in three games in the McMinnville Super Regional. Linfield returns to Marshall, Texas for the second time in as many seasons. The Wildcats open Tufts on Thursday at 9 a.m. (PT).
The CSC Academic All-District Softball Teams recognize the top student-athletes for their combined success in athletics and academics. Linfield's selections are all advancing for Academic All-American consideration that will be announced in June.
