Who's been the best high school softball player so far this year? Here's the top 20 picks
SAINT CLOUD – Just a few weeks remain until section tournaments, but several area softball teams already look qualified to win and move on to the state tournament.
Before local teams try to stretch their seasons into the postseason, let's look at their top performers while there’s still time to improve before the end-of-season all-area team.
Thanks to statistics provided by teams, athletes from Becker (11-6), ROCORI (14-2), Royalton (5-11), Sartell-St. Stephen (10-7), Sauk Rapids-Rice (8-10), the St. Cloud Crush (11-6), and St. Cloud Cathedral (13-1) made the list.
Statistics were not available for Albany (11-4), Foley (3-9) or Kimball (17-0).
Pitchers:
Jessica Boos
ROCORI sophomore
Jessica Boos is the first of several area sophomores playing out of their minds this year. The pitcher is a big reason for ROCORI’s success, especially on the rubber – but also at the plate.
Facing 301 batters in 81 innings, Boos has amassed an ERA and WHIP of just .605 and .654. Opponents have only scored 10 runs on her and are batting .109. She’s got 126 strikeouts, her season-high being against Brainerd (13-4) on May 11. So far, Boos has thrown three no-hitters.
Boos has batted .381 this year with an OBP of .443 and a SLG of .714. She has 24 hits – eight doubles, two triples and three home runs – and was involved in over 40 Spartan runs scored. She had 20 RBI and 21 runs scored. Boos has walked five times and had seven strikeouts, three steals and four errors.
Jamee Cook
Becker junior
Jaimee Cook has some of the best strikeout figures in the area after the first part of the season. In 79 1/3 innings, the junior has 111 Ks and has a meager 1.68 ERA. She’s 9-2 so far with 19 walks.
Marni Koosmann
Sartell sophomore
Two sophomore Sabres made the midseason list, but Marni Koosmann has perhaps carried Sartell’s heaviest load this year. In 13 starts, the pitcher has gone 9-4 with a 1.81 ERA and 102 strikeouts. Opponents have only scored 52 hits and 40 runs in 77 1/3 innings and Koosmann has elite hitting stats.
She’s gone .412 at the plate with an OBP of .521 and 17 hits. Three hits are a double, single and triple, and Koosmann has scored 14 Sabre runs. She also has five RBI and seven walks.
Ella Voit
Cathedral senior
Senior Ella Voit is tearing it up in her final year – in the circle and the box. Cathedral’s ace, Voit has pitched 61 innings, averaging less than seven innings per complete game. She has a record of 9-1, the only team defeating her being 15-2 Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial by a score of 3-1 on May 3. None of those three runs were earned and Voit’s ERA is still in the basement at .918. She’s given up 16 runs total this year – half earned thanks to 42 hits.
Voit averaged .300 and she gets on base in half of her plate appearances. Eight of her nine hits have been singles, but Voit has still managed a double, five RBI and a run scored.
Catchers:
McKenna Buckentine
Cathedral sophomore
McKenna Buckentine earned the field general position as a sophomore and solidified herself as high in Cathedral’s stacked lineup as she could. The catcher has a .474 batting average and an OBP of .615. Hitting in the six slot, Buckentine only has five RBI and zero runs scored but she’s had nine hits, including three doubles.
Brooklyn Hofer
ROCORI senior
In 58 at-bats this year ROCORI senior Brooklyn Hofer is averaging .379 with an OBP of .446 and a SLG of .621. She has 22 hits, nine of them being for extra bases, namely two dingers and six doubles. The senior has 14 RBI and 13 runs scored with six walks, making up for 12 strikeouts. Hofer also has three steals and three errors.
First basemen:
Keely Guggisberg
Sartell sophomore
Keely Guggisberg has played first base in her first year on the varsity squad. At the plate, she’s averaged .395 with an OBP of .477. Guggisberg has 15 hits including three doubles and a homer, and she’s collected 17 RBI. The sophomore has scored 11 runs and taken four walks.
Autumn Orcutt
St. Cloud senior
Autumn Orcutt is the first of several Crush hitters on the list. A power hitter, Orcutt still averages .408 even with two home runs and eight doubles. She has 10 singles and a few walks, raising her OBP to .586 and her SLG to .694. Thanks to that talented lineup, Orcutt has 13 RBI and has scored 12 runs. She also has four Ks and four stolen bases.
Second basemen:
Elizabeth Bell
Cathedral sophomore
Elizabeth Bell is another Cathedral sophomore hitter terrorizing Class 2A lineups this year. The infielder is hitting .543 with 19 hits including three doubles and a triple. She has seven RBI and has crossed the plate 14 times. Bell’s OBP is .568.
Adyson Petty
Becker sophomore
Adyson Petty has played really well up the middle for the Bulldogs. At the plate, she’s hitting .455 and has 16 runs scored. The sophomore second baseman also has nine steals.
Third basemen:
Tayla Vought
Cathedral sophomore
St. Cloud Cathedral’s three-hitter, Tayla Vought has proved her power with 21 hits this year, three of them homers and nine doubles. The sophomore Crusader has hit .583 this year, getting on base in .615 percent of at-bats. She has 22 RBI and has 16 runs scored.
Libby Yourczek
Royalton sophomore
Royals sophomore Libby Yourczek is one of two bright spots for Royalton this season. She has an OPS of 1.147 thanks to 21 hits, an average of .467, an OBP of .547 and a SLG of .600. Six of Yourczek’s hits are doubles and she has 14 of Royalton’s 81 RBI. Add her 12 runs scored and Yourzcek is responsible for over a quarter of the team’s runs.
She has an equal K-BB ratio with seven apiece and has two stolen bases. Yourzcek only has four errors.
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Shortstops:
Elise Hausmann
St. Cloud senior
Elise Hausmann has been a powerhouse this year for St. Cloud, blasting five homers and three doubles for 12 RBI. She’s averaged .304 and her OBP is .319, but her nearly-.700 SLG pushes Hausmann’s OPS figure to 1.015. Hausmann has 14 hits total and has scored 11 runs. She’s taken a walk and has three steals, but also has 15 strikeouts.
Sophia Hess
ROCORI senior
In 64 at-bats this spring, Sophia Hess has 33 hits. Her average of .516 is nearly as high as her OBP of .522. Hess has nine doubles, including two on Tuesday, a triple and a home run, pushing her SLG to .734. She’s hit 26 teammates home and scored 22 Spartan runs herself while only striking out three times and drawing three walks. Hess also has seven stolen bases and has only errored three times in the field.
Outfielders:
Camryn Kenning
St. Cloud senior
Leading the area in many offensive stats, right fielder Camryn Kenning’s career was cut short by a broken finger in early May. Still, the senior’s statistics are elite and worthy of recognition. Most exemplary of her game is a slugging percentage of 1.231. Out of 14 hits, four were singles. Kenning hit three homers, two triples and five doubles to start the spring, slashing .538/.586/1.231. She had 14 RBI for the Crush and scored 12 runs. Kenning took a surprisingly low two walks and had four strikeouts. She also stole four bases.
Kyah Koenig
Cathedral freshman
With an area-high OBP of .639, Kyah Koenig put herself in position to score 16 runs so far this season. Hitting .543, she also has 22 RBI. The outfielder has 16 hits this year, including two doubles, a triple and a home run.
Vivian Kusilek
Sauk Rapids junior
A regular starter for Sauk Rapids, Vivian Kusilek has hit .396 on the season, building an OPS of 1.099 thanks to slugging .642 and getting on base at a .458 clip. Kusilek has 21 hits, knocking in 17 runs. Three of those hits are bombs and the center fielder has scored 16 runs herself. Two knocks against Kusilek are having seven strikeouts and nine errors. She has stolen four bases and drawn four walks.
Alise Schoenrock
Royalton freshman
Standing out on Royalton this year, freshman Alise Schoenrock has hit .414 with an OBP of .433 and a SLG of .690. In 12 hits, she’s had three doubles, a triple and a homer, but only has seven RBI and four runs scored. Schoenrock has only struck out four times and has drawn a walk. She has two steals and three errors.
Schoenrock also pitches for Royalton. She’s started five games and has three appearances in relief. Totaling 26 innings, Schoenrock has struggled with varsity hitters, going 1-4 with an ERA of 9.962 and a WHIP of 2.692. Opponents have averaged .392, though she does have a save and 18 Ks.
Contact reporter Reid Glenn at rglenn@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. cloud times midseason high school softball athlete of the year
