Storm trio earns all-conference accolades
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Three members of the Simpson College softball team landed on American Rivers Conference all-conference teams, as announced by the league office on Thursday.
Ashlyn Steen was named to the first team, while Maddie Luderman and Alexis Ehlers garnered second team accolades. The Storm are coming off a season in which they led the conference in multiple categories, producing an overall record of 23-17, the most wins in the Brent Matthias era. Additionally, the team went 10-2 on its Spring Break trip to Florida and saw Ehlers and Luderman both win conference player of the week awards. The Storm led the conference in batting average (.322), hits (355), home runs (36), and on-base percentage (.399). The 36 home runs were the most by a Storm team since the 2015-16 season. The Storm were also the only team in the conference to eclipse 500 total bases, recording 541. The Storm pitching staff also had a solid overall year, ranking fourth in the conference in ERA with a 2.84 mark and producing four shutouts.
Steen, a freshman outfielder from Mount Vernon, Iowa, becomes the first Storm freshman to be named to the all-conference first team since Brianna Chaplin in 2015. She is the first Storm freshman to receive any all-conference accolades since Emily Bell was named all-conference second team in 2018. Steen was one of five Simpson players to appear in all 40 games, almost exclusively playing in center field and batting in the leadoff spot.
Steen led the conference with 145 at-bats, producing 56 hits to rank second in the conference. She recorded at least one hit in 31 of her 40 appearances and ended the season with a 20-game on-base streak. Steen collected 17 multi-hit games to lead the team and accounted for three of the team's six four-hit games. The speedy outfielder also led the conference in stolen bases, nabbing 28 bags on the year. Steen batted .386 on the year to rank third on the team, also leading the team in runs with 36. She also was extremely valuable defensively for the Storm, saving multiple runs while collecting a .968 fielding percentage.
Ehlers, a sophomore from Bryant, Iowa, collects her first all-conference award of her career by being named to the second team, also appearing in all 40 games. The dynamic shortstop erupted offensively in her second season, leading the team in batting average with a mark of .419 while driving in 40 RBIs and smacking nine home runs. Ehlers ranked in the top three in the conference in a multitude of categories, including all three above. She also ranked in the top three in slugging percentage (.729), hits (54), and OPS (1.190). She had 13 multi-RBI games to lead the team, driving in four RBIs two separate games. Ehlers also improved her play in the field, helping to turn a conference-best eight double plays on the year. She received her first career A-R-C Player of the Week award, after a six-game stretch that included batting .550 over 20 plate appearances to go along with three home runs and eight RBIs.
Luderman, a native of Bellevue, Neb., receives her second straight all-conference honor by being named to the second team. The senior catcher had a historic year, highlighted by tying the Storm single-season record for RBIs with 45. Playing all 40 games for the Storm, Luderman produced a slash line of .395/.474/.791, with all three marks ranking inside the top 10 in the conference. After blasting 12 home runs on the year to tie for the conference lead, Luderman is now tied for second all-time in Storm history for career home runs with 25. She drove in five RBIs in two separate games, the only Storm player to do so, while collecting 16 multi-hit games. Luderman also won her second career A-R-C Player of the Week award after collecting 13 hits, two home runs, and nine RBIs during an eight-game stint on the team's trip to Florida. Behind the plate, Luderman threw out 17 runners attempting to steal, which led the conference.
