Eight Lady Tigers are All-MIAA

HAYS, Kansas — The Mid-America Intercollegiate Atheltics Association released the 2011 All-MIAA Softball Team on Thursday (May 5) prior to the start of the conference tournament in Overland Park, Kan. Eight Fort Hays State players were selected to the team. Malinee Powell earned first team honors at catcher and Adriana Wortley earned second team honors at first base. Honorable mention honors went to pitcher Kayla Rupa, outfielder Sara Tani, utility player Maddie Holub, second baseman Britney Workman, shortstop Daine Brinkman, and third baseman Erin Dyok.

Powell gives FHSU its fifth straight year of having at least one player selected to the All-MIAA First Team. She is having a breakout season as a sophomore, leading the MIAA in hits (63) entering the conference tournament. The Littleton, Colo., native ranks second in the MIAA in RBI (45) and total bases (103) and third in batting average (.394). As of May 5, Powell leads the team in batting average, hits, doubles (12), and slugging percentage (.644), and is tied for the team lead in triples (2) and home runs (8). This is the first all-conference honor of her career.

Wortley earned second team honors for the second straight year at first base. She had a slow start to the season offensively, but came on strong late to finish the regular season with a .317 average with six home runs and 26 RBI. The Tacoma, Wash., native ranks second on the team in RBI and third in home runs.

Rupa grabbed the third All-MIAA selection of her career as a pitcher, earning honorable mention honors for the second time. She was a second team selection last year. The senior from Parker, Colo., put together a record of 14-13 with a 2.54 ERA in the regular season. She continues to set the bar high for several career pitching records at FHSU as the leader in wins, appearances, complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts. Entering the tournament, she has over 600 strikeouts in her career and nearly 750 innings pitched.

Also earning an All-MIAA selection for the third time in her career is senior Saran Tani. This is the second straight year the Westminster, Colo., native earned honorable mention honors. She was a first team selection in 2008 as a sophomore. Tani has started every game in center field for FHSU since the beginning of her sophomore season. She is the all-time leader at FHSU in at bats, runs scored, and walks.

Holub grabs the second all-conference nod of her career with an honorable mention selection as a utility player. Last year she earned second team honors as a utility player. Holub is a dual threat as a hitter and pitcher. She is tied for the team lead in home runs entering the tournament with eight, but her RBI total (18) is down significantly from her freshman year in which she set the school record for a single season (52), but she has improved in the pitching circle lowering her ERA from 3.56 as a freshman to 2.45 this year entering the postseason.

Workman picked up her first all-conference nod as an honorable mention selection at second base. The Topeka, Kan., native saw a giant turnaround in her batting average this year ranking third on the team at the end of the regular season at .324. As a freshman, she hit just .216 with one home run and five RBI, but this year is over 100 points higher with two home runs and 21 RBI.

Brinkmann, an NCAA Division I transfer from Creighton University, earns an all-conference selection her first year in the MIAA. The sophomore from Foristell, Mo., earned honorable mention honors at shortstop finishing the regular season second on the team in batting average (.329) and doubles (11). She leads the team in walks (24) and on-base percentage (.436).

Dyok, a transfer to the team this year from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, earned honorable mention honors at third base. Entering the tournament, the junior from Quill Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada sports a .301 batting average nine extra-base hits and 17 RBI. She is the team leader in stolen bases with 10.