RedStorm places seven on All-RSC teams

Rio Grande/RSC Sports Information
     SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Seven members of the University of Rio Grande softball team were among those named to the 2026 All-River States Conference squad on Thursday evening.
     The all-conference first-, second- and third-teams, as well as the league's major award winners, were announced following the opening games of the RSC Softball Championship at Little Creek Park.
     All of the honorees were determined through voting by the head coaches of each member school.
     Rio Grande, which finished third in the regular season standings, was represented on the first team by junior Nigella Reck (Covington, OH), who made the squad as an at-large selection.
     The RedStorm's second team picks included senior pitcher Meg McCallum (Belmont, Ontario, Canada), freshman pitcher Macy Kise (Milford Center, OH), senior catcher Natalie Bates (Vandalia, OH), sophomore infielder Lindzie Runions (Poca, WV) and sophomore outfielder Emily Lane (Charlotte, NC).
     Junior infielder Kendyl Moss (Cincinnati, OH) represented Rio on the third team.
     Reck led the regulars in head coach Chris Hammond's lineup in nearly every offensive category. She finished with a .420 batting average, eight home runs, 23 doubles, five triples and 68 runs batted in. She also had a .723 slugging percentage and a .479 on-base percentage.
     McCallum posted a 20-6 record with a save and a 3.09 earned run average, while Kise was 13-10 with two saves and a 3.47 ERA. Kise also finished second on the team with 42 RBI.
     Bates hit .315 with six homers, eight doubles and 37 RBI, Runions batted .297 with eight doubles and Lane hit .296 with five doubles, two triples, a home run and 25 RBI.
     Moss hit .280 with eight doubles and 25 RBI, while also being regarded as one of the top defensive third basemen in the league.
     The All-Conference teams were evenly balanced, with seven schools earning at least five overall selections. The top three teams in the conference all had seven selections, with Oakland City and Shawnee State joining Rio Grande on the list.
     Oakland City and Shawnee State led all schools with six First Team selections each.
     IU Southeast and Kentucky Christian both had six selections, with Brescia and IU Columbus following with five honorees each. St. Mary-of-the-Woods placed four players on the All-Conference teams, with two selections from WVU Tech and one from Midway rounding things out.
     Joining Reck on the All-RSC First Team were pitchers Grace Butcher of Oakland City, Shawnee State's Abbie Deeds and Emma Davis from IU Southeast; catchers Sierra Dunnagan of Shawnee State and Hallie McCracken from Oakland City; infielders Randi Delong of Midway, Sydney Skiver from Shawnee State and the Oakland City trio of Jordan Bufford, Baylee Rhodes and Hannah Wissel; outfielders Jenna Christopher of Shawnee State, Sofia Guy from IU Southeast, Oakland City's Kinsley Heichelbech and Linnea Baldner of IU Columbus; designated player Gabby Adams from Shawnee State; utility pick Ariana Adams of Kentucky Christian; and at-large selections Mallory Shelton of IU Columbus, Josie Lemmons from IU Southeast and Shawnee State's Haley Myers.
     Along with Rio's contingent, the All-RSC Second Team included pitcher Gabby McConnell of Shawnee State; catcher Lillian Mackey from IU Southeast; infielders McKenzie Walters of IU Southeast, Olivia Barnett from WVU-Tech, Kentucky Christian's duo of Alexis Holleman and Alyna Ruiz and Bailey Duke from St. Mary-of-the-Woods; outfielders Rebecca Engler of Kentucky Christian, Brescia's Emma Kate Elrod and Kasey Wood from Oakland City; WVU-Tech designated player Hailea Skeens; and utility selection Justice Cash from IU Columbus.
     In addition to Moss, the All-RSC Third Team included pitchers Felicity Cunningham of Brescia, St. Mary-of-the-Woods' Jasmine Kinzer and Chloe Linn from IU Columbus; catchers Madison Penrod of Kentucky Christiana and Addy Harris from Brescia; infielders Lex Heafner of IU Columbus and Madison McDaniel from Brescia; outfielders Caeden Bennett and Kyar McVey from St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Hannah Melton of Kentucky Christian and Brescia's Lilli Grant; and utility selection Ava Allen of IU Southeast.
     As the league's top two-way player, Butcher was honored as both the RSC Player and Pitcher of the Year.
     The Mighty Oak led the RSC in earned run average at 2.04, finished second in strikeouts with 128 and placed third in wins at 15. At the plate, the Washington, Indiana native belted six home runs and drove in 29 runs. She hit .360 for the Mighty Oaks, reaching base at a .406 clip and recording a .596 slugging percentage.
     Another of the league's best pitchers, Deeds was honored as the conference Newcomer of the Year. She earned two-thirds of the pitching Triple Crown, leading the River States Conference in wins (19) and strikeouts (139) while finishing third in the league with a 2.53 earned run average.
     Deeds also made her mark out of the bullpen with a conference-best three saves.
     After guiding the Mighty Oaks to the league's regular season championship, Oakland City head coach McKendree Ward was honored as the 2026 RSC Coach of the Year.
     Ward led the Mighty Oaks to a 36-14 overall record, including a 30-6 mark in conference play. The third-year head coach will lead Oakland City to its first-ever trip to the NAIA Tournament.
     Additionally, the River States Conference also announced the athletes recognized as their program's Champion of Character.
     Each team in each RSC sponsored sport is asked to nominate one athlete as their Champion of Character. These student-athletes best represent the NAIA's Champions of Character program and its five core values of Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Servant Leadership and Sportsmanship.
     Rio Grande's honoree was freshman catcher Kendall Booth (Mechanicsburg, OH).