2017 UMAC Softball Awards (May 8, 2017)

The University of Wisconsin Superior placed five different athletes on the 2017 All-Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Teams highlighted by junior outfielders Saige Patrick (Steinbach, Man./St. Mary's Academy) and Ciarra Taipale (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld H.S.) landing on the First Team announced Monday. First-year right-handed pitcher Megan Pehrson (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids H.S.) earned an All-UMAC Honorable Mention for her rookie campaign, while junior infielder Katie White (Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes H.S.) landed an Honorable Mention and a spot on the UMAC All-Defensive Team at first base. Sophomore catcher Gabby Gidley (Superior, Wis./Superior H.S.) joined her among the UMAC's top defensive players.

Patrick tied for ninth in the league in hitting, batting .440/.472/.700 during the conference campaign, finishing 22-for-50 with eight extra-base hits including a home run against UMAC foes. Overall, she was UW-Superior's leading hitter, batting 41-of-93 on the year with two home runs and nine doubles, driving in 16 runs on the year and crossing the plate 17 times. She also swiped five bases on six attempts. Taipale earned her second-straight pick to the All-UMAC First Team, batting .370/.455/.630 during league play, slugging a pair of home runs. She finished the season batting .289 (28-of-97) with three long balls and a team-leading 10 doubles. She drove in 15 runs on the year and crossed the plate a Yellowjacket-best 20 times.

Pehrson posted the seventh-best ERA in the league during conference play among qualifying pitchers (1.72) and struck out 77 batters in 61.0 UMAC innings. For the season, she finished 11-9 with a 1.82 ERA in 123.1 innings, striking out 131 hitters on the year while allowing just 32 earned runs. She had six shutouts on the season, including a league-best five against conference foes. White went 16-for-48 during league play, lifting five doubles during the conference season while finishing third on UWS with a .327 batting average and eight doubles. She drove in 12 runs and crossed the plate 20 times while starting all 33 games at first base. White posted a .985 fielding percentage with just three errors in 203 chances. Gidley finished as the top defensive catcher in the league, making just one error on the season in 211 chances (.995 fielding percentage). She also caught five would-be stolen base attempts in 14 chances while finishing with just two passed balls on the season.

Senior Shelby Gerken (Baraboo, Wis./Baraboo H.S.) was the Yellowjacket recipient of the UMAC Sportsmanship Award. Crown College pitcher and infielder Lis King earned the title of UMAC Player of the Year while her skipper Jamie Ross was named the Coach of the Year. First-year catcher Toni Bishop of the College of St. Scholastica was named the UMAC Rookie of the Year.