By Scott A. Kolb

Post-Bulletin, Austin MN 

A successful season for both the Riverland baseball and softball teams resulted in numerous honors along the way.

The Blue Devils won the state and regional championships, then advanced to the NJCAA Division III World Series. They also won over 30 games for the first time.

The post-season success led to four players being named to the All-Minnesota College Athletic Conference, South Division team. Kyle Starkey, Brandon Huhn, Brian Voigt, and Brady Banse from Riverland were selected to the All-MCAC South team.

Starkey and Huhn were both chosen for the MCAC All-State team, plus the All-Region 13 team. Starkey had one final honor as he was named as the MCAC Player of the Year.

Not only were his players honored for their fine season on the diamond, but so was Riverland baseball coach Scott Koenigs. The Blue Devils bench boss was named as the Region 13 Coach of the Year.

In addition to this honor, Koenigs was also selected as the District E Coach of the Year. This vast district area encompasses Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Throughout the season, Starkey was named as the division player of the week two times. Banse and Huhn were the pitchers of the week for the first week of the division schedule. Voigt, Ryan Palmer, and Mitch Jaeger were also named pitcher of the week during the course of the season.

"It was a great season for our program and now I'm off on the recruiting trail," coach Koenigs said in summation of the best season in his seven years with Riverland.

• Coming off a fourth-place finish in the MCAC State Tournament and third in the Region 13A Tournament, the Riverland softball team had two players named to the all-tournament team.

Right-fielder Liz Triplett and catcher/outfielder Danielle Lynch made the nine-member All-Region 13A Tournament Team. Triplett was 7-for-8 in the three games of the region with six RBIs, including two doubles and a three-run homer.

Lynch batted .354 (5-for-11) in the regional. She also had a total of five RBIs in the three games of the region tourney.

Laura Meyer and Jill Radke were named to the all-division and all-state teams, plus both players were also chosen to the overall All-Region 13 Team.

Meyer batted .509 for the season and had a 33-game hitting streak. She led the Lady Blue Devils with 59 hits, 30 runs scored, and an on-base percentage of .536. Radke batted .479 and had eight doubles to lead the team. She scored 20 runs and had 15 RBIs in 23 games played on the season.

End of the season team awards voted on by the players were also announced by the Lady Devils. The Most Improved Award went to Rachal Knopps, a freshman catcher from Blue Earth.

The Spirit Award was shared by Chelsey Swanson and Thenedra Corey. The Golden Glove Award went to shortstop Mandy May, who had 86 assists and 65 put-outs in the field.

Most Valuable Player wound up in a tie with honors shared by Carmen Smith and Meyer. Smith had a .364 batting average with 26 runs scored and 24 RBIs. Meyer had 19 multiple hit games to go along with her hitting streak, and she was 25-for-25 in stolen base attempts on the season.