SHIPPENVILLE, Pa. – Completing one of the top softball careers in the history of District 9 with a PIAA championship, Kylee Lingenfelter leads the way in the 2018 D9Sports.com District 9 Softball Awards.
(Photo of Kylee Lingenfelter. Photo by Jared Bakaysa of JB Graphics. See more of Bakaysa’s work here)
Lingenfelter is both the D9Sports.com District 9 MVP and the D9Sports.com District 9 Pitcher of the Year after leading her team to the PIAA Class 4A title last week. She is joined by her manager, Alan Pifer, who is the D9Sports.com District 9 Manager of the Year.
Rounding out the awards are a pair of DuBois Central Catholic players with Ashley Wruble earning D9Sports.com District 9 Offensive Player of the Year honors and Mia Meholick as the D9Sports.com District 9 Rookie of the Year.
2018 D9SPORTS.COM SOFTBALL AWARD WINNERS
MVP/PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Kylee Lingenfelter, Punxsutawney, Senior
Lingenfelter led the way for the four-time District 9 champions (two in Class 3A and two in Class 4A), who won their first PIAA title with a 2-0 win over Bethlehem Catholic.
In the circle, she was 16-2 on the year with a save while recording a 0.67 ERA. After allowing six earned runs in a season-opening win over Clearfield, Lingenfelter yielded five the rest of the season including just one in five playoff victories while recording eight shutouts on the year, four coming in the playoffs. In 115 ⅔ innings of work, she struck out 240 while walking 25 and giving up 46 hits. Opponents hit .122 off of her with a .181 on-base percentage.
Nearly as good with the bat, the Penn State recruit, hit .463 (31 of 67) out of the leadoff spot for the Lady Chucks with a .519 on-base percentage and a 1.265 OPS. She recorded 11 doubles, a triple and two home runs while driving in 19 and scoring 21.
Lingenfelter was the co-D9Sports.com Pitcher of the Year in 2017 with Moniteau’s Kennedy DeMatteis.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ashley Wruble, DuBois Central Catholic, Junior
Wruble played a key role in DCC going 20-3 on the year with a third-place finish in District 9 Class 1A and a trip to the PIAA second round, the third straight season the Lady Cardinals won a PIAA playoff game.
She hit .661 (37 of 56) with six doubles, six triple and five home runs giving her an OPS of 2.012 and a slugging percentage of 1.250. The 2016 D9Sports.com District 9 Rookie of the Year also scored 44 runs while driving in 30.
Wruble, who was also the pitcher for DCC and was 19-3 with a 1.25 ERA, is the third straight DCC player to earn Offensive Player of the Year honors joining Jory Frank, who earned the honor in both 2016 and 2017.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Mia Meholick, DuBois Central Catholic, Freshman
Meholick is the third straight DCC player to earn Freshman of the Year honors after hitting .507 (35 of 69) with eight doubles, four triples, two home runs and 40 RBIs. She had a 1.352 OPS and scored 31 runs.
She joins teammates Ashley Wruble (2016) and Shay Gulvas (2017) in earning Rookie of the Year honors, which goes to either a freshman or a sophomore who saw limited or not playing time as a freshman.
MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Alan Pifer, Punxsutawney
Photo by Jared Bakaysa
Pifer skippered the Lady Chucks to their first PIAA Championship with a 2-0 win over Bethlehem Catholic in the Class 4A title game.
Punxsutawney finished the year 19-3 and also won its fourth straight District 9 title.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the Lady Chucks PIAA title was the fact the team had to replace six starters from a year ago and started three freshmen and three sophomores during the playoff run.
D9SPORTS.COM DISTRICT 9 SOFTBALL AWARDS THROUGH THE YEARS
The D9Sports.com Softball Awards started in 2016
MVP
2018: Kylee Lingenfelter, Sr., Punxsutawney
2017: Kennedy DeMatteis, Sr., Moniteau
2016: Kennedy DeMatteis, Jr., Moniteau
Pitcher of the Year
2018: Kylee Lingenfelter, Sr., Punxsutawney
2017: Kennedy DeMatteis, Sr., Moniteau and Kylee Lingenfelter, Jr., Punxsutawney
2016: Kennedy DeMatteis, Jr., Moniteau
Offensive Player of the Year
2018: Ashley Wruble, Jr., DuBois Central Catholic
2017: Jordy Frank, Sr., DuBois Central Catholic
2016: Jordy Frank, Jr., DuBois Central Catholic
Rookie of the Year
2018: Mia Meholic, Fr., DuBois Central Catholic
2017: Shay Gulvas, Fr., DuBois Central Catholic
2016: Ashley Wruble, Fr., DuBois Central Catholic
Manager of the Year
2018: Alan Pifer, Punxsutawney
2017: George Heigel, DuBois Central Catholic
2016: Dan Beebe, Moniteau
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