Thursday, November 19, 2015

Webb City's Harris among six Missouri Southern softball recruits

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

Missouri Southern Softball Interim Head CoachMelissa Chmielewski announced the singings of six future Lions for the 2017 softball season.

The Lions will add one local and five Kansas City area players for the 2017 season. "We are really excited to add this class to our roster next year," said Chmielewski. "All six excel in the classroom and on the softball field and they are a great group of student athletes. We are excited for the possibilities they bring to our program."

Emily Harris of Webb City is the lone local player to sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI) with Missouri Southern. Harris was a four year starter at both catcher and 3rd/1st base for Walter Resa and the Lady Cardinals. She finished her high school career with a .381 batting average, including 23 home runs, an on base percentage of .473, and a slugging percentage of .795. She was a three time All-COC (Central Ozarks Conference) member earning second team honors her freshman season and first team honors during her junior and senior campaigns. Harris also earned three All-District honors during those three seasons to go along with three All-Region honors as well while the Lady Cards finished second in Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Class 4 state tournament in 2013. In addition to her play on the diamond, Harris has been a two year thrower (shot put and discus) for the track and field team under coach Jermey Butler with her senior season yet to happen. She set her personal bests of 39 feet 11 inches in the shot put and 122 feet and eight inches in the discus during her junior season and earned All-State honors. Harris is also a three time Academic All-State honoree.

She is the daughter of Mike and Kathy Harris and is undecided on her major at Southern. Her mother Kathy is a 1990 graduate of Missouri Southern and was her assistant softball coach at WCHS.

Elizabeth Windsor comes to Southern from Richmond High School in Richmond. Elizabeth played catcher for four years for coach Staci Maddux and the Spartans. During her four years on the diamond for RHS Windsor saw her batting average, slugging percentage, and on base percentage all increase each season. By the end of her senior year she was batting .397 with a slugging percentage of .718 and an on base percentage of .510. Windsor collected four Missouri River Valley - East All-Conference honors during her career at RHS, honorable mention for her freshman season, second team honors during her sophomore year, and first team honors for the last two seasons. Elizabeth also earned second team All-MSHSAA Class 3 District 15 honors her sophomore and junior season while earning first team All-District and All-Region honors this past season. She helped the Spartans to three straight Missouri River Valley - East Championships while earning offensive player of the year both her sophomore and junior seasons and team MVP honors during her junior season. Windsor is also a three year member of the Spartans track and field team running sprints, middle distance, and jumping in both the long and triple jump events.

Elizabeth is the daughter of James and Mendy Windsor and plans to major in nursing at Southern.

Julia Woelbel signs with the Lions after four years at second base for the Blue Springs South High School Jaguars. During her freshman season at Blue Springs South Julia set the school record with 15 sacrifices while hitting .283 on the season. Her sophomore season saw Julia rank in the top three in hits with 35, runs with 22, and batting average with a .432. During her junior season she again finished in the top three in hits with 30, runs with 19, and average with a .366 batting average. Julia only saw action in five games during her senior season due to an injury. For her play in 2013 she earned first team All-Suburban Big Six, first team All-District, and second team All-Region honors. During her junior season Julia earned second team All-Conference and second team All-District honors. Woelbel is a three time Missouri Fastpitch Coaches Association (MFPCA) Academic All-State honoree and a two time National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFPCA) All-American Scholar Athlete.

Julia's summer/travel team, Originals Self, finished second place in the 16 Gold 2015 National Championship in Salem Oregon where she averaged .366 at the plate. In 2014, Woelbel hit .420 and helped the Originals Self qualify for the 16 Gold Nationals in Tulsa. 2013 saw Julia play for the Blue Springs Fireballs where she batted .364 and helped the team to a second place finish in the 16A Northern Nationals in Rochester, Minnesota and the 2010 12A Norther Nationals Championship in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Julia is the daughter of Joyce & Ed Woelbel and plans on majoring in business at Southern.

Erika Lutgen is a native of Kansas City, Missouri and played four years at first base, third base, and catcher for Park Hill South HS. The 5-4 HS senior earned first team All-Suburban Kansas City Red Conference honors her junior and senior seasons for the Panthers. Lutgen also earned first team All-District honors the past two seasons, and first team All-Region honors this past fall. Erika was the team defensive MVP in 2013, offensive MVP in 2014, and this season was the team all around MVP. In the classroom Erika earned All-State Academic honors in 2014.

Erika is the daughter of Ken and Christa Lutgen and plans to major in special education at Southern.

Danielle Kilgore comes to the Lions after four years at shortstop for the Lady Eagles of Holden (Mo.) HS. During her career at HHS Danielle set the career mark for home runs with a .506 batting average. She was a second team All-Conference honoree her freshman season and was a three time first team All-Conference member along with two time Missouri River Valley - East Player of the Year. During her freshman year she was a second team All-District member while getting a first team nod her final three years at Holden. During her junior season she was also a first team All-Region honoree and repeated that honor her senior year to go along with a first team All-State honor. Danielle won the team defensive player of the year award her freshman season while earning team MVP her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.

Danielle is the daughter of Darren and Kathy Kilgore and plans to major in nursing at Southern.

Kaycee Hodgson is a native of Camden Point, Missouri and played shortstop for the Panthers of North Platte HS and coach Ron Restler for four seasons. Kaycee helped the Panthers to a fourth place finish in the MSHSAA Class 2 state tournament her junior season earning honorable mention All-State honors as well. Hodgson was a four time first team All-Kansas City Interscholastic (KCI) Conference honoree and earned first team All-State honors this past season.

Kaycee is the daughter of Mark and Betsy Hodgson and plans to major in physical therapy at Southern.

Southern will open its 2016 season at the Southeastern Oklahoma State Tournament February 5-7.

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