North Branch softball hands out 2012 awards

The North Branch softball team capped a quality year with a bevy of awards for their girls. Starting with team awards, senior Chelsey Emery-Snaza won the Vikes’ Most Valuable Player Award. She hit .286 on the year with a .480 on base percentage and a .386 slugging percentage. She led the team with five doubles, belted out one triple and had 14 RBIs. She struck out only five times on the year and played sterling defense at shortstop.

The Best Offensive Player Award went to senior Alley Carlson. She completely mashed the ball all season. She hit .412 on the year with a .527 on base percentage and a .603 slugging percentage, all team highs. She also led the team in hits with 28, triples with five and was second with 16 RBIs. She also only committed one error from her post at first base. The Best Defensive Player Award went to sophomore catcher Mikayla Carlson. Not only did Mikayla get it done at the plate, hitting .324 on the season with three doubles and four stolen bases, she was strong behind the plate. She made only one throwing error all year and only had six passed balls. Most impressive though, she caught nine of the 16 runners who tried to steal a base on her for a 56.3 percent clip. Anything over 30 is good, and over 50 is astounding.

The Most Improved Player of the Year went to two girls, Claire Peltier and Syd Mueller. Peltier, a junior, was used mostly as a pinch runner. She had five runs on the year along with a stolen base. Her instincts on the basepaths really helped produce some extra runs for North Branch. Mueller hit .327 for the season in 52 at-bats and drew six walks while knocking in 10 RBIs. The Rookie of the Year Award also was split between two girls. Kaylee Lofboom stepped in as a sophomore and hit .280 with nine RBIs, two stolen bases and a sturdy glove in the outfield. Hannah Hubbard, only a freshman, was the other top newcomer. She brought some speed to the basepaths late in the season and finished with eight RBIs and seven runs.

The Viking Award went to senior second baseman Kallie Grote. Grote finished out her North Branch career with a .271 average with 10 RBIs. Both Carlson sisters were named All-North Suburban Conference for their efforts in league play, and Emery-Snaza, Emily Trunk and Kari Berggren were named All-North Suburban Honorable Mention. Trunk hit .338 with 10 RBIs, 14 runs, four doubles and three stolen bases. She also tossed 21 innings for the Vikings with 13 strikeouts and a 2.95 earned run average. She went 3-2 on the year from the mound. Berggren hit .303 and had 20 hits and led the team with 18 RBIs. Both Grote and senior starting pitcher Jen Huth were named to the Academic All-State team for their performance in the classroom also. Huth went 2-6 with a 4.48 ERA and 20 strikeoutes in 45 innings pitched. She also led the team by drawing nine walks in only 36 plate appearances, giving her a .515 OBP.