Six Huskies earn All-NSIC honors
5/4/2022 3:34:00 PM | Softball
Vanden Langenberg, Junker named First Team All-Conference
BURNSVILLE, MINN. - The St. Cloud State University softball team compiled one of the best seasons in recent history in 2022. On the eve of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Tournament, six Huskies were honored for their stellar play during the regular season. Senior shortstop Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, Wis. / Seymour) and junior pitcher Trinity Junker (Lindstrom, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) earned First Team All-NSIC honors Wednesday afternoon, while Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield), Sydney Trees (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake), Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn. / Waconia) earned Second Team. Additionally, Weinberger and fifth year senior Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family) were both named to the NSIC's Gold Glove Team at their respective positions in the outfield.Â
Vanden Langenberg adds to her impressive resume, earning First Team All-NSIC honors at shortstop for the second consecutive season after leading St. Cloud State in nearly every offensive category. As a true senior, Vanden Langenberg tallied a team-leading 61 hits in 163 at bats, tallying a .374 batting average while slugging .607 as the team's lead off hitter. The shortstop additionally broke the program record for season and single-game hit by pitches, as she was plunked a record 16 times during the regular season. It was her play against NSIC opponents that garnered First Team All-Conference honors. Vanden Langenberg hit a blistering .469 in 30 NSIC games, tallying 45 total hits, including six doubles, a triple and five home runs. She additionally slugged .708 and compiled a .540 on base percentage (OBP) against conference opponents and ranked top-10 in the NSIC in batting average (.469), OBP (.540), OPS (1.248), hits (45), at bats (96), hit by pitch (9) and stolen bases (16) at the conclusion of the regular season.Â
Junker earned All-Conference honors for the first time in her Huskies career and was named First Team after an impressive junior season. As St. Cloud State's ace, Junker compiled a record of 18-6 during the regular season, becoming the first pitcher to win 18+ games in the regular season since Kelly Franks did so in 2014. Additionally, the junior tallied an earned run average (ERA) of 1.58 during 2022, which ranked in the top-30 in all of Division II, with 160 strikeouts in 155.0 innings pitched. At the conclusion of the regular season, Junker ranked third in the conference in overall ERA, fifth in opposing batting average and total wins, and sixth in both innings pitched and total strikeouts.Â
Estrada, Trees and Weinberger all earned Second Team All-NSIC honors after career years at the plate and in the field. Estrada became the Huskies first three-time All-NSIC honoree in program history, garnering Second Team honors as the team's designated player. The true senior hit .345 in her third full season with St. Cloud State, compiling 51 hits in 148 plate appearances while appearing in 50 of the team's 51 games. She was even better in NSIC play. Estrada hit .365 with three doubles, five home runs and 16 RBI in NSIC contests to close the regular season with a .552 slugging percentage. Additionally, the lefty broke the program record for single-game hits, tallying five against Upper Iowa on April 15.Â
Trees earned All-Conference honors for the first time in her career and was named Second Team All-NSIC thanks to her play as St. Cloud State's catcher. As a senior, Trees appeared and started all 51 games for the Huskies, tallying a season batting average of .366 with 60 hits in 164 at bats. Of her 60 hits, 27 were for extra bases, as Trees tallied a team-leading 16 home runs, 11 doubles and 119 total bases during the regular season. She additionally helped the Huskies break the program record for single-season home runs, as her 16 total not only led the team, but ranked third in the NSIC behind Augustana's Mary Pardo and Upper Iowa's Katie Crogan. Trees also ranked fifth in the conference in RBI (51) entering the conference tournament and seventh in slugging percentage (.726).Â
Weinberger was the Huskies only double awardee, as she garnered both Second Team All-NSIC and Gold Glove honors for her play in right field. The Gold Glove honor is the second for the junior, who was also named to the NSIC's Gold Glove team in 2021 for her play in right field. It wasn't just Weinberger's defense that impressed the conference coaches, though. As a junior, Weinberger went 51-148 at the plate for a season batting average of .345. She improved her numbers in conference play, as Weinberger only trailed Vanden Langenberg in batting average (.389) and hits (37) in NSIC play. She additionally ranked sixth in the conference in total (16) and NSIC only (11) doubles and just missed the top-10 in batting average and hits.Â
Bowlin adds a second Gold Glove honor to her name, having earned the award back in 2019 for her play in left field. In 51 total games, Bowlin committed just one error on 88 chances out in left and center field, making her not only one of the best outfielders in the NSIC, but the region as well. The speedy fifth year senior tallied 50 putouts in conference play with one assist and zero errors and was one of three regular players who did not commit a single error during the 2022 NSIC season. Bowlin additionally hit over .300 against conference opponents, closing the regular season with a .310 batting average and will graduate as the program record holder for career, single-season and single-game stolen bases.Â
St. Cloud State will return to action at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 5 when the team opens its NSIC Tournament run against Minnesota-Duluth in Rochester, Minnesota.
