Six Kansas Wesleyan Softball players named All-KCAC
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

Coker

Menke

After finishing the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference in second place with a 12-4 record, six Kansas Wesleyan softball players earned All-KCAC honors as selected by the coaches of the conference and announced by the conference sports information office on Tuesday.

Katie Coker and Jenny Menke were named to the First Team All-KCAC; Megan Duchene, Jamie Peat and Michelle Webster were named Second Team All-KCAC and Tara Earley was named Honorable Mention All-KCAC.

Coker, a freshman pitcher from Russell, was named First Team All-KCAC. Through the completion of the KCAC Post-Season Tournament, she had compiled a 12-6 record with a 1.99 ERA in 19 games. She recorded 16 complete games, and three shutouts. In 112.1 innings pitched, Coker struck out a KCAC best 164 batters against 35 walks. Batters struggled against Coker, as she allowed only a .199 batting average against. Offensively, Coker batted .330 in her first year with the Coyotes, tallying 37 hits, which included three doubles and two home runs.

Peat

Duchene

Menke, a junior left fielder from Lawrence, Neb., batted .341 overall in 2008 with 30 hits, seven doubles and four home runs in 32 games. In conference play, Menke was even more impressive, leading Wesleyan with a .486 average, recording 18 hits, including five doubles, a triple and three home runs. Her slugging percentage in conference play was .919. Menke’s defense was also key for the Coyotes this season. Several times, Menke made outstanding plays in left field that ended rallies for the opposition.

Duchene, a junior center fielder from Bourbonnais, Ill., batted .416 for the Coyotes through the end of the KCAC tournament with 47 hits, including a team best 14 doubles to go along with two triples and four home runs. In conference play Duchene batted .439 while tallying 18 hits, including six doubles and two home runs.

Earley

Webster

Peat, a senior pitcher from Trail, British Columbia, Canada, was named Second Team All-KCAC. Through the 2008 KCAC Tournament, Peat recorded an 8-8 record in 19 appearances. She threw 14 complete games in 16 starts while recording a 5.91 ERA. In conference play, Peat’s ERA dropped to 2.69 as she recorded a 4-2 record.

Webster, a senior catcher from Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, was named Second Team All-KCAC. Webster led Wesleyan overall with a .419 batting average, while recording a team best 49 hits which included six doubles, one triple and a team best seven home runs. In conference play, Webster hit .447 with 21 hits that included three doubles and three home runs.

Earley was Wesleyan’s lone Honorable Mention All-KCAC selection. The senior first baseman from Colorado Springs, Colo., hit .217 with 20 hits in 36 games overall. Earley was a key defensive component at first base, making several grabs on throws to record outs and provided a solid defensive presence.

Wesleyan finished the regular season with a 19-14 overall record, and finished the KCAC season tied for second at 12-4 with Bethany College. After receiving the no.3 seed in the KCAC Tournament, the Coyotes went 3-2 during the two day event, finished as the tournament runner up to regular season champion Friends University, who also won the tournament title.

The Coyotes are the no. 3 seed in this week’s NAIA Region IV Tournament which is scheduled to begin on Thursday at Wall Park in McPherson. Wesleyan will open the tournament with a contest against sixth-seeded Park University at 10 a.m.

-- KWU SI --