Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

CCIW Release

May 6th, 2021 - Landing five individuals on All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) teams, and earning conference Newcomer of the Year for the second straight season, the North Central College softball team is honored for their season's performance in 2021, released by the conference on Thursday.

Freshman Katie Del Re finished the regular season with a .414 batting average, 55 hits, a .602 slugging percentage, 13 doubles, three triples, and two home runs to be named the CCIW Newcomer of the Year. The Hampshire native is one of two North Central players to be a first-team selection. Del Re is also tied for fifth in single-season steals (17) and is riding a 20 game hitting streak in program history.

Breanna Adams earned all-conference honors for the second time in her career, as she was named to the first-team as a utility player. At the plate, the Mundelein native led the team with 26 RBI's while hitting .377 with 46 hits, and 10 doubles. In the field, she posted 102 putouts and 40 assists playing at first base. As a pitcher, Adams tallied a 7-6 record with 111.2 innings pitched and 53 strikeouts in the circle for the Cardinals.

Leading the Cardinals in a majority of pitching stats, junior Gianna Corban was named to the second-team as she recorded a 3.38 earned run average while striking out 121 batters. In her nine complete games, Corban tallied three shutouts with an 11-10 record. This season, Corban worked her way into the 20-win club and fifth all-time for career strikeouts in North Central history.

Earning all-conference honors for the third time in her career, Emily Miller hit .364 with 44 hits, 22 RBI's, 21 runs, 15 runs, and an on-base percentage of .434. In the field, the senior posted 45 putouts, three assists with zero errors to receive second-team accolades. Miller currently ranks second in career doubles, (46), and batting average (.424) while sitting in fourth place for fielding percentage (.988).

Playing behind the plate for most of the games this season, Jaime Smith also earned second-team accolades for the Cardinals. She started every game while tallying a .365 batting average, with 46 hits, 27 runs, 18 RBI's, and eight doubles. The Wheaton native is third all-time for career putouts in program history for a catcher with 426.

 North Central faces Carroll in the first round of the CCIW Tournament this afternoon. The first pitch is set for 2:30 PM at Workman Family Field in Decatur on the campus of Millikin University. You can find live video and stats HERE.

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