[Softball] Spracklen named KCAC's top pitcher; Nine Falcons earn All-KCAC honors
WICHITA, Kan. – Friends University senior pitcher Laila Spracklen, winner of the past two KCAC Player of the Week awards, has now been named the conference's top pitcher for the 2023 season, the league office announced tonight (May 2) following the softball banquet at the site of this week's postseason tournament in Great Bend, Kan.
Spracklen is among the KCAC leaders across the board, ranking second in the league in strikeouts (200), tied for second in wins (17) and third in ERA (2.04).
The San Diego, Calif. native became the Falcons' modern-era career strikeouts leader earlier this season (Apr. 19) at McPherson College and now has 470 punch-outs for her career.
A truly unique two-way player, Spracklen also earned first-team status as a DP after slugging seven homers and ranking fourth in the league in batting average (.418) and fifth in RBIs (46).
Befitting for a team with a strong regular season record at 32-10 overall and coming in second in the league with a 20-4 mark, the Falcons placed nine student-athletes overall on All-KCAC teams.
In addition to Spracklen, Carolyn Dallimore (C), Priscilla Mora (OF), Makenna Mitchell (3B) and Fallyn Marshall (SS) were each first-team all-conference selections.
Becca Dunn (1B) and Isabelle Schwien (P) earned second-team recognition, while Aleigha Gale (OF) and Jayden Estabrook (2B) were honorable-mention performers.
One of the most feared hitters in the league, Dallimore launched a career-high 13 homers that ranked second in the KCAC while pacing everyone in the conference in hitting (.469). The Patterson, Calif. native was truly an unstoppable force at the plate, also topping the KCAC in both on-base-percentage (.609) and slugging percentage (.920) while finishing tied for the league lead in walks (30) and fourth in RBIs (52). A nationally recognized player, Dallimore earned NAIA Softball Player of the Week honors back on Mar. 28.
Mora complimented Dallimore's power with eight home runs while batting a career-high .402 on the season and already matching last year's RBI output with 46 runs driven in.
Mitchell enjoyed a major breakout season for the Falcons, posting career-high numbers in batting average (.342) and RBIs (33) while also hitting three home runs.
In her first season with the program, Marshall was adept at setting the table for the Falcon offensive attack, hitting .405 from the leadoff spot and getting on-base at a .458 clip along with swiping 11 bases.
Dunn was also a quick study in her debut season at Friends, ranking fourth on the team in RBIs (44), fifth in batting average (.397) and hitting four homers.
Schwien provided the Falcons with a vital 1-2 punch on the pitching staff, winning a career-best 14 games and recording a solid 3.55 ERA with 67 strikeouts across 112.1 innings in the circle.
Flashing her typical game-changing speed, Gale ranked fifth in the KCAC with 20 stolen bases this season and batted .313, while Estabrook provided the Falcons a power threat at a premium position with four home runs and 22 runs driven in.
The Falcons' postseason journey officially kicks off tomorrow (May 3) at the KCAC postseason tournament with a noon start against seventh-seeded McPherson College in Great Bend, Kan. A victory would push the second-seeded Falcons (32-10, 20-4 KCAC) into a matchup later that evening at 5 pm against the winner of third-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan University and the sixth-seeded Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes.
Looking to defend their crown as the defending conference postseason tourney champions, the Falcons will carry a lot of momentum into this week's competition with 16 wins in their past 18 conference games.
"Friends University Softball represented really well tonight!" said softball head coach Suzanne Unruh. "I'm proud of their hard work this year, it was very deserving. But we are not done yet!"