Indian Hills Dominates All-Region Softball
Regular-season and postseason Region XI champion Indian Hills placed eight players on the all-region first team and four more on the second team in awards announced by the league office. In addition, IHCC coach Laura North repeated as the Region XI Coach of the Year.
First-team choices from Indian Hills are sophomores Lexi Smith (Bettendorf), Erin Kuba (Cedar Rapids), Taylor Jones (West Branch), Cheyanne Bergert (Bettendorf) and Abby Straight (Logan) along with freshmen Jaylie Reints (Shell Rock), Vanessa Bakley (Osceola) and Carlyn Stanley (Truro).
Representing the Warriors on the all-region second team are sophs Taylor Takushi (Aiea, Hawaii) and Olivia Goodale (Urbandale) and a pair of freshmen, Taylor DuBois (Carlisle) and Helaina Johnson (Abingdon, Illinois).
Kuba, who leads the Warriors in seven offensive categories, earned the Player of the Year honor, and Stanley, with a 13-2 pitching record, is the Region XI Pitcher of the Year.
Of the dozen IHCC players on the all-region squads, there are seven sophomores and five freshmen.
Five of the Warriors honorees made their second all-region team. Goodale, Takushi and Smith were first-team picks in 2017 and Kuba and Jones were placed on the second team last year.
Indian Hills will take a 46-10 season record into the district tournament this weekend in Poplar Bluff, Mo. against Three Rivers CC with a goal of qualifying for the program's third straight trip to the NJCAA national tourney.