With the recent National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) announcement of spring sports being canceled, that put an early halt to the Ellsworth Community College softball season.
The Panthers were 3-8 before the decision was made. Most recently they picked up a 6-2 win over Kansas City Kansas Community College, who was ranked in the top 20 in the preseason.
Freshman shortstop Gintare Paskocimaite was tied for ninth in the nation with seven home runs – in just 32 at bats. She was batting at a .563 clip with 10 runs, 18 hits, four doubles and 15 runs batted in. By far the top offensive numbers on the team.
Sophomore infielder Morgan Schueler tallied six runs, 13 hits, two doubles, eight RBI with an average of .433.
In the circle, Katy Payne was named pitcher of the week for the ICCAC. She had an ERA of 2.26.
According to the NJCAA press release, no spring sports nor spring sport student-athlete who was enrolled at a member college in 2020 will be charged with a year of participation. That means the 11 sophomores on the Panther roster could return next season if they would like.
For more on the decision to cancel the spring sports season, check out (free to non-subscribers) http://www.timescitizen.com/kifg/njcaa-officially-cancels-spring-sports-amid-covid--outbreak/article_96131840-684f-11ea-91f0-9b1414324feb.html