A year ago when Ashley Gigax captained The World-Herald All-Nebraska NAIA squad, her coach praised her ability to step in at left field.
This season, the Bellevue senior moved back to second base. No more coming to the park and wondering what role she would fill.
“I think she got comfortable at second, and she had a phenomenal year at the plate,” coach Michala Cimino said. “She was able to concentrate even more on her hitting.”
Her offensive prowess led NAIA coaches in the state to vote for her as captain for a second straight season.
The Omaha Mercy graduate led the Bruins with a .424 batting average while setting school records for home runs and slugging percentage (.871). Her 21 homers also were tops nationally.
She had 72 hits, 56 RBIs, 21 multi-hit games and a .490 on-base percentage.
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Gigax worked for her stats. Cimino would have to practically drag her from the batting cage.
“She just loves to hit,” Cimino said. “She took an extra lot of cuts at practice.”
Gigax was joined by fellow Bellevue seniors Shelby Kindelin and Taylor Mohler.
They were a big part of leading the Bruins to a 41-14-1 record, taking them to the championship game of the NAIA opening round, one game from the World Series.
“They basically said, ‘Hop on board, we’re going to take you for a ride,’ and they did,” Cimino said.
Afterward, Gigax piled up the postseason honors. She was named the MCAC player of the year, first-team NFCA All-Central Region and an NAIA and NFCA first-team All-American.
She’ll be back next year as a graduate assistant.
“She’s just a kid who worked her tail off,” Cimino said.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1034, marjie.ducey@owh.com