Van Houten named IIAC Player of the Week
CEDAR RAPIDS - Simpson softball player Kylie Van Houten earned Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Position Player of the Week honors for the period ending Sunday, April 10 after hitting .500 and producing a game winning hit during the week.
A freshman designated player from Des Moines, Iowa (Hoover), Van Houten slugged .833 with four doubles and six RBIs, leading the team in all categories. The league-leading Storm swept conference doubleheaders against Wartburg and Loras during the week.
In Simpson's 5-3 win over Wartburg in Tuesday's doubleheader, Van Houten broke a 3-3 tie with a two-out, two-RBI double in the top of the seventh inning. She finished 3-for-4 with two doubles in the game and went 1-for-2 with a double in game one, a 9-3 Simpson win.
Against Loras on Saturday, Van Houten went 1-for-3 with a three-RBI double in a 9-1 win in game one and finished the doubleheader with a 1-for-3 performance in the Storm's 4-2 win in game two.
Simpson currently sits atop the Iowa Conference standings with a 20-8 record including a perfect 6-0 mark in league play. The team's unblemished conference record will be put to the test this week as the Storm face a pair of nationally ranked Iowa Conference foes, hosting No. 5 Central on Wednesday and traveling to No. 9 Coe on Saturday.