NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Softball senior Alexis Rauch (Cassopolis, MI), juniors Sam Mikitka (Naperville, IL) and Leah Zimmerman (Huntertown, IN), and sophomores Laura Heim (Howards Grove, WI) and Madi Ingolia (Lemont, IL) were named College Sport Communicators Academic All-District for NCAA DIvision III. This is Zimmerman's second time winning the award while it is the first for Rauch, Mikitka, Heim, and Ingolia.
To be eligible for the CSC Academic All-District Award, the student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletic credentials and at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average (4.0 scale). They must have reached a sophomore athletic and academic standing at the institution and must have completed at least one full academic year at the institution.
Rauch, the Accounting major, played in 29 games in her final season as a Belle. She would finish the season with 21 hits and a .266 batting average while posting six multi-hit games. Of her 21 hits she would record five extra base hits, all being doubles. She would also drive in nine runs and score nine runs of her own. Rauch would also tally a .326 on base percentage and a .329 slugging percentage. She would be one of the best defenders for the Belles this season, posting a team best .996 fielding percentage at first base with 218 putouts. Rauch would surpass the 100 career hit mark in her final home game with a double against Calvin University.
Mikitka, the Elementary Education and Mathematics minor, played in 27 games in her junior season, tallying 18 hits and a .257 batting average. Of her 18 hits, she would record three doubles while also knocking in eight runs and scoring eight of her own. She would post a .325 on base percentage and a .300 slugging percentage. In the circle, Mikitka would make 15 appearances and lead the team in innings pitched (72.2) and strikeouts (33) while recording a 3-10 record and posting a 7.03 ERA.
Zimmerman, the Speech Language Pathology major, played in all 30 games for the Belles this season, the only player to do so. She would tally 22 hits while posting a .306 batting average, ranking second on the team, and posting six multi-hit games. Of those 22 hits she would tally three extra base hits with a double and two triples. She would also drive in 11 runs while scoring 12 of her own. Zimmerman would post a .315 on base percentage and a .375 slugging percentage, ranking third on the team in slugging. She would also dominate in the outfield, posting a .952 fielding percentage.
Heim, the Nursing major, played in 25 games for the Belles, tallying 19 hits and a .271 batting average while posting six multi-hit games. Of her 19 hits she would add four extra base hits, including two doubles, a triple, and her first collegiate home run against Utica University. Heim would also knock in 12 runs while scoring 12 of her own. She would post a .350 on base percentage and a .371 slugging percentage, ranking third on the team in on base percentage. In the field she would add a .902 fielding percentage with 22 putouts and 52 assists.
Ingolia, the Nursing major, played in 20 games for the Belles, tallying eight hits and a .211 batting average while driving in two runs and scoring five of her own. She would post a .250 on base percentage and a .211 slugging percentage. Ingolia would be a strong contributor for the Belles in the outfield, posting a .966 fielding percentage with 26 putouts.