All-HAAC team includes four Lady Vikings

For both her bat and glove, Valley senior shortstop Kimberly Fuller earned all-HAAC recognition. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

The Heart of American Conference Tournament-champion Missouri Valley College softball team had four players honored by the league.

The junior battery of Tatum Hathcock and Janae Borrego were chosen for the all-HAAC first team, while senior Kimberly Fuller and junior Wendy Garcia were second team selections.

Hathcock was the Lady Vikings' workhorse on the mound with 204.1 innings pitched, compiling a 19-12 record and 2.26 earned-run average. The Ava product, who is not expected to return after completing her degree requirements, had an admirable 3-to-1 strikeout-walk ratio with 103 whiffs and 26 free passes.

Borrego, a catcher from Port Hueneme, Calif., led Valley with a .323 batting average, .494 slugging percentage and 13 doubles. She also had three triples, three homers, scored 27 runs and drove in 25 runs.

Fuller batted .292 with a .405 slugging percentage. The Honolulu native produced three homers, scored 28 times and knocked in 22 runs. Her .938 fielding percentage was the best in the league among starting shortstops.

Oxnard, Calif., native Garcia boasted a .967 fielding percentage and recorded eight assists from right field. She hit for a .307 average with three dingers and 22 RBIs.

Although junior third baseman Sydney Kaneshiro led the Lady Vikings with six homers and 32 RBIs and junior center fielder Edna Gutierrez topped the squad with 31 runs scored, neither received all-conference mention. Valley also wasn't represented on the NAIA all-American squad.

The Lady Vikings, under head coach Josh Miller, were 34-23 overall and 12-8 in league play for fourth place in the standings -- reaching the NAIA Tournament for the first time in the program's history.