BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Additional post-season honors came in for the Bellevue University softball team as two players were named to the Omaha World-Herald all-Nebraska team.
Junior pitcher Kelli Fisher and freshman utility player Emily Miller both earned all-Nebraska recognition. Four Bruins - Emily Gigax, Kaitlyn Goney, Erin Sharpe, and Sarah Zeleny - were also named as honorable mentions.
Both Fisher and Miller were previously named to the all-NSAA First Team while Fisher was also a first team all-region selection and Miller was an honorable mention pick.
Fisher was the ace in the circle, compiling a 23-13 record to go along with a conference-best 1.16 ERA (third best in program history) and a career-high 187 strikeouts in 229.2 innings of work. She also set program single-season (5) and tied a program career (6) record for saves. Additionally, she became just the sixth pitcher in program history to post a WHIP of less than 1.000, as her mark of 0.884 was the second-best in program single-season history.
Miller established herself as one of the Bruins' primary offensive weapons in her debut campaign. A utility player who saw time at first, second, third, and in the outfield she produced everywhere she played. Miller led the team in batting average (.331) and runs scored (27). Miller was second in on-base percentage (.414), slugging percentage (.481), doubles (11), and hits (44). She proved to be a valuable run producer as well, driving in 23 runs and hitting three long balls.
Gigax made a seamless transition to shortstop this season. She was the team leader in several offensive categories, including; slugging percentage (.535), hits (45), doubles (13), home runs (9), RBI (33 – tied), extra-base hits (22), and hit-by-pitch (20 – a school-record). Additionally, she batted .283 on the season and fielded an exceptional .948 while playing every game at shortstop and seeing 211 chances.
Goney had a breakout season with the bat, setting career highs in average (.301), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.344), hits (28), runs scored (22), total bases (38), and doubles (4) and tying a career-high in stolen bases (4). Goney was also a steady hand in the outfield as she committed just three errors over 45 games played.
Sharpe came on and showed her prowess as a top power hitting threat for the Bruins. She tied for the team lead in RBI (33), was second on the team in home runs (6) and extra-base hits (16), and third in doubles (10). She hit .262 with a .341 on-base percentage as one of just two Bruins to appear in all 54 games on the season.
Zeleny, after serving as a role player as a freshman, earned the starting centerfield spot with exceptional defense and a terrific offensive campaign. This season she led the team with 13 stolen bases (in 13 attempts) and was second on the club with a .313 batting average as one of only three players to appear in 50 or more games. Zeleny scored a career-high 19 runs and hit a pair of doubles while committing just three errors in centerfield.
This past season the Bruins posted an overall record of 34-20 which included a 19-5 mark in conference play which was good enough for a second place finish.
