MADISON COUNTY — Three Pendleton Heights softball players earned All- Hoosier Heritage Conference honors after a season in which they won sectional and regional crowns.
Lauren Landes, senior third baseman, Kelsey Sturgeon, senior first baseman, and Jordan Benefiel, sophomore pitcher, were named to the All-HHC team.
Landes appeared in 32 games for the Arabians and had a .478 batting average. She had 54 hits, 17 doubles and one home run with 28 RBI.
Sturgeon appeared in 32 games for the Arabians and had a .363 batting average. She had 38 RBI along with 33 hits, 13 doubles and seven home runs.
Benefiel had a sparkling season with a 1.54 ERA. She had 13 wins and four loses in 127.1 innings pitched. She struck out 169 batters and gave up 23 walks.
Three other Arabian softball players earned honorable mention: Olivia Conner, Kylie Davis and Chloe Closser.
The Arabians finished in fourth place in the conference with a 4-3 record, tied with Shelbyville, and finished 22-10 overall.
The Hoosier Heritage Conference named a total of 20 players from all eight schools to its 2018 All-HHC softball team.
The team was chosen by votes from conference coaches.
Conference champion New Palestine is represented by four player selections. Sectional champions Pendleton Heights, Shelbyville and Yorktown each have three representatives. As a league, the conference’s teams had a successful season, with seven of the eight teams posting winning records. Against non-conference foes, HHC teams have gone 124-30 this season.
New Palestine won its fifth-straight conference title with a 7-0 record. The Dragons, 30-1 overall, won the Class 3A state championship game against South Bend St. Joseph Saturday, June 9, at Purdue University. Dragons coach Ed Marcum was voted the conference’s Coach of the Year.
2018 All-HHC softball team members:
Tabby Thornburg, senior, 3B, Delta
Natasha Coy, sophomore, P, Delta
Maria Kihega, senior, UTI, Greenfield-Central
Kaitlyn Nugent, senior, P, Mt. Vernon
Sydnee Perry, sophomore, SS, Mt. Vernon
Cassidy Parker, senior, 1B, Mt. Vernon
Mariah Nicholson, senior, 3B, New Castle
Ashley Prange, senior, SS, New Palestine
Michaela Jones, sophomore, C, New Palestine
Tatum Biddle, junior, 2B, New Palestine
Jaylin Calvert, junior, CF, New Palestine
Lauren Landes, senior, 3B, Pendleton Heights
Jordan Benefiel, sophomore, P, Pendleton Heights
Kelsey Sturgeon, senior, 1B, Pendleton Heights
TeAnn Bringle, senior, P/2B, Shelbyville
Katie Lux, senior, 2B, Shelbyville
Addisenn Weaver, freshman, SS/C, Shelbyville
Skyler Davis, junior, 3B, Yorktown
Ainsley Phillips, freshman, C, Yorktown
Bri Bilbrey, senior, P, Yorktown
Honorable mention:
Delta: Sami Herron, Bre Evans
Greenfield-Central: Lexi Rankin, Madge Weidner, Sam Kihega
Mt. Vernon: Haley Kissee, Jadan Fithian
New Castle: Alyssa Semler, Cameron Tabor, Haylie Graham
New Palestine: Emily O’Connor, Emma Tucher, Mackenzie Jones
Pendleton Heights: Olivia Conner, Kylie Davis, Chloe Closser
Shelbyville: Katie Mathies, Izzy Lewis, Morgan Stineker, Madison Campton
Yorktown: Reagan Cox, Caitlyn Grim
