Pride softball has four selections to Heart of America All Conference Teams

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - With the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament underway on Thursday, the Clarke University softball team had four individuals selected to the All Conference Honorable Mention team, Heart officials announced.

Those individuals were pitcher/utility player Malarie Huseman, infielder Daija Bates, outfielder Lily King, and utility/infielder Elizabeth Leverton as all four players will be expected to return to the Pride next season following a relatively strong finish to their 2022 season.

Huseman, a sophomore from Dubuque, Iowa, had a standout first season at Clarke, specifically in the circle as she was honored for her time as a pitcher even though she would end up leading the Pride in RBIs and tying for the team lead in home runs.

In the circle, Huseman had almost double the innings of the next most frequent CU pitcher to toe the rubber, as she threw 20 complete games in 25 starts for a 3.28 ERA and 5.28 strikeouts per seven innings. Her pitching season was highlighted by the no-hitter she threw against Mount Mercy in the last week of the season on Apr. 26 while also throwing a complete game for a win over No. 11 Grand View in the season finale.

Bates, a sophomore from Des Moines, Iowa, finished with a slash line of .297/.365/.420 but had a significantly stronger Heart season with her slash line of .337/.429/.505 as she had 32 of her 41 hits, seven of her eight doubles, all three of her home runs, and 12 of her 19 runs batted in against Heart opponents.

King, a junior from Ankeny, Iowa, was a speedy slap-hitter and defensive wizard in center field ended the year slashing .289/.312./316 while leading the team in runs scored at 26 while finishing two hits shy of the team lead at 44 while adding five stolen bases and four doubles. 

Leverton, a sophomore from East Peoria, Ill., was the team's leader in batting average as another one of CU's slap hitters as she finished with a .370 batting average while adding a .376 on base percentage and .380 slugging to her slash line to put up 40 hits and 12 runs scored on the season.

As previously stated, all four of these members of the Pride will return to lead CU in 2023 as they look to build off of winning their final nine games of the season, including wins against Mount Mercy and No. 11 Grand View.