Softball

LEWIS NAMED ICCAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR

LEWIS NAMED ICCAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Posted: May 10, 2023

Ottumwa, IA – For the second consecutive season, Destiny Lewis (Indianola, IA/Indianola) of the Indian Hills Softball team has been named the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Player of the Year. Lewis was also named to the NJCAA All-Region 11 First-Team, announced by the conference office on Wednesday.

Lewis becomes just the second player in ICCAC history to repeat as the conference's Player of the Year, joining former Warrior Shyanne Dubois who was tapped as the league's top student-athlete in 2016 and 2017. As a program, Indian Hills has now claimed seven consecutive ICCAC Player of the Year honors dating back to the 2016 season.

"Destiny is just different, in everything she does on the softball field," stated head coach Lindsay Diehl. "She has the ability to take over a game and her teammates follow her lead and pick her up on days they need to. She is well known in this conference and does some serious damage at the plate for us offensively. Destiny has left her mark here and I look forward to how she finishes out her sophomore career."

Lewis put together another historic season in Ottumwa as the returning National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American cemented herself in the Indian Hills record books. Lewis currently holds seven regular season and career school records and ranks in the top-10 in 10 additional categories, including five marks in the top-five.

In 47 games this year, Lewis boasted a .468 batting average after collecting 72 hits, including 43 for extra bases. The sophomore has hit 29 home runs on the year, second-most in school history only behind the 31 hit last year by both Lewis and teammate Sydney Anderson. Lewis drove in 83 runs on the year and scored 76 more times.

Lewis, who took over as the team's primary second baseman after playing third base for a majority of her freshman campaign, sported a .944 fielding percentage in 160 total chances on the year. Lewis turned seven double plays and tallied 86 assists on the year to go along with 65 putouts.

The sophomore currently owns the career Indian Hills record for home runs (60), runs scored (170), and total bases (389). Lewis' 173 RBI rank second only to Kelly Uhde's 177. With the upcoming NJCAA District Tournament series still to play, Lewis will finish no lower than second all-time in career batting average while her current mark of .501 ranks second only to Uhde's .506 clip.

Lewis has totaled 22 multi-hit games on the year, including eight contests with at least three hits. Lewis became the ninth player in program history to record five hits in a game after going 5-5 with five runs scored against Ellsworth Community College on April 6.

On the year, Lewis is a four-time recipient of the ICCAC Athlete of the Week Award and was named the national player of the week for the week of April 5-11.

Lewis, who has hit the most home runs in the nation over the last two seasons, is currently tied for fourth-most home runs in the NJCAA on the year. Lewis also ranks eighth nationally with a 1.136 slugging percentage and 10th with 175 total bases this year.

Along with Lewis' honor, Madie Anderson (Mt. Pleasant, IA/Winfield Mt. Union) was named the ICCAC Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season while Sydney Anderson (Elkhart, IA/North Polk) was named the ICCAC Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight year. Coach Lindsay Diehl has been named the ICCAC Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season. In total, 12 members of the Indian Hills Softball team earned All-Region 11 honors.

To read more about Madie Anderson being named Pitcher of the Year, visit: MADIE ANDERSON NAMED ICCAC PITCHER OF THE YEAR

To read more about Sydney Anderson being named Offensive Player of the Year, visit: SYDNEY ANDERSON NAMED OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

To read more about Lindsay Diehl being named Coach of the Year, visit: DIEHL NAMED ICCAC COACH OF THE YEAR

To read more about the NJCAA All-Region 11 selections, visit: 12 NAMED TO ALL-REGION 11 TEAMS

Lewis and the Warriors are set to travel to the NJCAA Midwest District Tournament May 13-14 in Neosho, MO as Indian Hills will take on Crowder College (MO), winners of the NJCAA Region 16 Tournament. The best-of-three series gets underway at 1:00 PM Saturday with a doubleheader and an if necessary game on Sunday.

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