Earl, Bowers, & Estes Honored as Softball Announces 2022 Team Awards

By Press release submission

Jun 16, 2022

The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team announced its 2022 team awardwinners Monday, June 13. Senior Hayley Earl (Washington, Ill.-Washington) garnered the team's Most Valuable Player award, while fellow senior Kaylee Bowers (Champaign, Ill.-Champaign Central) took home the Gwen Meyer Award for the fourth straight season. Freshman Kennady Estes (Warrenton, Mo.-Warrenton) was recognized as the recipient of the Most Improved Player honor.

Earl, one of the best catchers across all of Division III, reeled in First Team All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin accolades for the third time in her career. The Washington, Ill. native hit .380 with 38 hits, a career-best 25 RBIs, and 20 runs scored despite missing the team's final 12 games due to injury. She popped off for a career-high six home runs, while also adding a career-best 11 doubles en route to a team-best slugging percentage of .670. Earl walked four times and struck out just five times as she led the Green and White with a .404 on-base percentage. She posted 10 multi-hit performances, including a three-for-three, six-RBI game against Monmouth and a four-for-four, five-RBI effort against Chicago. Defensively, Earl's reign as the conference's top catcher did not waver. The senior caught a no-hitter throw by junior Nina Mardjetko (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) and also did not yield a stolen base throughout CCIW play.

Bowers played in 14 games for the Green and White, earning six starts in her senior season. She cranked out career-highs in hits (5), runs (2), and slugging percentage. She ripped the first extra-base hit of her career in IWU's "Titans Play for St. Jude" game against Chicago, April 2, which saw Bowers' own former doctor throw out the first pitch. The winner of the annual Gwen Meyer Award is given to the player who gives 100 percent, shows support for the team and is self-motivated. The award was established in 1986 to honor the memory of Meyer, IWU's most valuable softball player in 1984, who died of cancer.

Voted by her teammates as the team's Most Improved Player, Estes embraced every role she was asked to fill throughout the season. Thrust into action due to several injuries, Estes' hard work throughout the season earned her six starts in the outfield, where she finished with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. She recorded the first RBI of her career in a win over North Park, April 27, while her first career hit came in a must-win at North Central, April 28. In the CCIW Tournament, Estes scored a career-high two runs as she produced a 1-for-1 day at the play against Carroll, May 6.

Head Coach Tiffany Prager lettered 21 student-athletes. Earning letters for the Titans were:

Kennady Estes

Ava Khoury

Jen Kuhn

Alison Kern

Rylie Perry

Maya Black

Megan Fontanetta

Isabelle Piwowarczyk

Bailey Turner

Hope Yeoman

Nora Adams