Posted: May 06, 2015
FAYETTE, Mo. Central Methodist first baseman Lauren Geringer, pitcher Haley Kinnison and head coach Pat Reardon received four of the five top honors handed out in the 2015 Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) softball awards and all-conference teams, which were released on Tuesday.
The Eagles placed eight players on the All-HAAC first team, one on the honorable mention team and were also honored with four Gold Glove award winners.
Geringer was named the HAAC Player of the Year, receiving the award for the second time in her career. Kinnison was named the HAAC Pitcher of the Year, an award that has gone to a Central Methodist pitcher in each of the past five seasons, and she also received the HAAC Newcomer of the Year award. Reardon was named the HAAC Co-Coach of the Year, receiving the honor in each of the past five seasons and in seven of the last eight seasons.
Geringer becomes the third Eagle in as many years to win the Player of the Year award. She received the honor as a freshman in 2013 and Michele Rupard took home the honor in 2014 as a junior. Geringer, a junior first baseman, led the HAAC with 16 home runs this season, bringing her career total to 41. Her 16 home runs currently rank ninth in the NAIA and broke her previous school single-season record of 13, set in 2013. Geringer, an O'Fallon, Mo., native, leads all HAAC players with 113 total bases and ranks second in the conference with 57 RBIs, as well as being second in the league in runs scored with 51.
Kinnison continues the Eagles' pitching prowess by winning the Pitcher of the Year award. Former Central Methodist All-American Aubrey Utley had previously won the award each year from 2011 to 2014. Kinnison, a Lee's Summit, Mo., native, has a record of 19-4 in the pitcher's circle this season, leading all HAAC pitchers in wins. The junior right-hander, who transferred to Central Methodist this season from Missouri Southern State University, also led the HAAC in ERA (1.52) and hits allowed per game (4.13). Her 150 strikeouts in 142-1/3 innings this season ranks 25th in the NAIA. Kinnison has held opponents to a batting average of .173 in 26 games, ranking ninth in the NAIA.
Reardon has been named HAAC Coach of the Year eight times at Central Methodist (1995, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) and led the Eagles to their fifth-straight HAAC regular-season championship and fourth-consecutive berth in the NAIA Softball World Series Opening Round. Central Methodist is 52-2 in conference play over the past three seasons under Reardon and finished a perfect 18-0 in the conference in 2015, the first time any HAAC team has accomplished that feat. The Eagles have won 30 or more games in each of the past eight seasons under Reardon, who is seven wins shy of reaching win No. 650 in his career.
Geringer and Kinnison were joined on the All-HAAC first team by teammates Jocie Glaze, Rupard, Lindie Adair, Hannah Blackmon, Bri Boatwright and Jessie Wilmes.
This is the first All-HAAC honor for Glaze, a native of Norborne, Mo. In 19 pitching appearances which includes 18 starts Glaze has a pitching record of 16-1, winning her first 16 decisions of the season before suffering her only loss on May 2 against Avila. Her ERA of 1.67 is second in the HAAC and her 16 wins rank third in the conference. In 110 innings in the pitcher's circle, the junior right-hander struck out 54 batters and allowed just 28 earned runs, which ranks 35th in the NAIA.
Rupard has received All-HAAC honors in each of her four seasons at Central Methodist. The Kansas City native has a .401 batting average with 41 runs scored and 40 RBIs this season. The senior catcher has drawn a walk 38 times in 2015, which is one walk shy of the Eagles' single-season record Rupard set last season.
Adair makes the All-HAAC team for the second time in her career, but it is her first appearance on the All-HAAC first team. The Boonville, Mo., native has a .288 batting average with 34 runs scored and 29 RBIs to go with five home runs. The senior shortstop boasts a .515 slugging percentage in 2015.
Blackmon, a sophomore second baseman from Beaumont, Texas, makes her first appearance on the All-HAAC team. She posted a .371 batting average and scored 45 runs. Blackmon also belted seven home runs this season and drove in 32 runs.
Boatwright has been an All-HAAC first-team selection in each of the past two seasons. The senior third baseman is second in the conference with a .427 batting average, which leads the Eagles. Her 64 hits and .653 slugging percentage were also team-highs for Central Methodist this season, and the Stoutland, Mo., native also has 36 RBIs in 49 games.
Wilmes has received All-HAAC honors in back-to-back seasons and boasts a .399 batting average while hitting in the leadoff spot this season. The junior center fielder tallied 63 hits in 158 at-bats for the Eagles, and her 16 doubles and 56 runs scored are both team-highs. The Flint Hill, Mo., native is tied for 22nd in the NAIA in runs scored and was a perfect 18-for-18 in stolen-base attempts in 2015.
Also making the All-HAAC team this season for Central Methodist is Nicole Beck, who was named as an honorable mention.
Beck, a senior right fielder from Hanover Park, Ill., posted a .291 batting average in 40 games and drove in 39 runs while scoring 28 times. She is second on the team with nine home runs and has a .605 slugging percentage. Beck is tied for first in the NAIA with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 38 chances.
Glaze, Rupard, Boatwright and Wilmes were all named to the Gold Glove team. Glaze is appearing on the team for the first time in her career, committing only two errors in 48 chances this season for a .958 fielding percentage. Rupard, receiving the honor for a third-straight season, made just one error in 301 chances behind the plate for a fielding percentage of .997. She also threw out 14 baserunners attempting to steal in 28 tries. Boatwright had three errors in 127 chances at third base for a .976 fielding percentage and also helped turn three double plays. Wilmes made 52 putouts in center field and had just two errors in 61 chances for a .967 fielding percentage.
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