TOMLINSON, KRUGER EARN NFCA ALL-REGION HONORS
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Two members of the Hutchinson Community College softball team earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region honors on Tuesday.
Sophomore pitcher Morgan Tomlinson and freshman center fielder Kaibryn Kruger were named to the NFCA NJCAA Division I All-West Region second team. They were two of nine Jayhawk Conference players to earn all-region honors.
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MORGAN TOMLINSON (So./P) – 1st Team
Tomlinson became the first 20-game winner for the Blue Dragons since Holly Kelley in 2016, posting a record of 21-7 with a 3.18 earned run average. In KJCCC play – where she made 15 starts and eight relief appearances – Tomlinson was 16-3 with a 3.11 ERA.
The sophomore from Harveyville, Kansas, had 131 strikeouts in 147 1-3 innings pitched this season. She walked only 24 batters and allowed 149 hits with opposing batters hitting only .251 off of her.
Tomlinson pitched two combined no-hitters this season and had six complete games with two complete-game shutouts.
In three-straight starts this past season, Tomlinson set new single-game career highs in strikeouts with eight against Colby on March 17, nine against Garden City on March 18 and 10 against Dodge City on March 20.
Tomlinson completed her career with a 37-10 record and a 3.14 earned-run average. She finished with 180 strikeouts in 236 innings. Her 37 wins rank fourth on the Blue Dragon career list and her 180 strikeouts are 10th.
Tomlinson was also named all-KJCCC first-team earlier this month.
KAIBRYN KRUGER (Fr./CF) – 2nd Team
The freshman from Silver Lake was second on the team in batting this season with a .456 average. Kruger was 73 for 160 with 13 doubles, six triples and seven home runs. She drove in 51 runs and scored 76, which is third-most in Blue Dragon single-season history.
Kruger was 40 of 42 in stolen-base attempts this season, which is No. 3 on the Blue Dragon single-season list.
Kruger matched Bailey Backhaus for the longest hitting streak this season at 16 and she will carry a 43-game streak of reach base into next season.
Kruger had 24 multi-hit games, including a season-high four hits against Seward County on March 12.
Kruger had two games with four steals – Fort Hays Tech Northwest on March on and Labette on March 9 – to establish a new Blue Dragon single-game record for steals.
Kruger was named all-KJCCC second team this season.