Dura, Osborn, Smith Named to All-SLIAC Team
ST. ANN, Mo. – Eureka College senior shortstop Kerrigan Dura (Edwards, Ill./Brimfield H.S.) has been voted to the All-St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team and sophomores Morgan Osborn (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S.) and Erin Smith (Dunlap, Ill./Dunlap H.S.) were named to the All-SLIAC Third Team, according to an announcement Thursday night at the SLIAC Tournament at ABC Park in St. Ann, Mo.
Dura is the seventh Eureka softball player to earn All-SLIAC honors in three different seasons and the first Red Devil to earn three First Team selections. She led the league with 71 plate appearances in 18 league contests and also ranked among the SLIAC leaders with nine doubles (second), 26 RBI (second), 27 hits (third), 48 total bases (third) and a .762 slugging percentage (fifth). Her 51 assists from the shortstop position also led the 10-team SLIAC.
For the full season, Dura had 15 doubles to lead the league and rank fourth on Eureka's single-season list. She finished the campaign with a .356/.424/.585 line over 134 plate appearances.
Dura ends her 108-game career with three all-time Eureka records – a .460 batting average, 54 doubles and 123 RBI. She also appears on the Red Devils' all-time lists with 168 hits (second), nine home runs (fourth), 107 runs scored (sixth) and 41 walks (sixth).
Osborn is a first-time All-SLIAC selection after taking the reins as Eureka's every-day catcher in 2018. She tied Dura for the league lead with 71 plate appearances in conference competition and also ranked third in the league with five home runs. Behind the dish, she was perfect in 143 defensive chances and one of only two SLIAC players to have a 1.000 fielding percentage with at least 100 chances.
Overall, Osborn slashed .346/.421/.579 in 31 starts with 30 runs scored, 37 hits, six doubles, two triples and 25 RBI. She also homered five times to become just the seventh player in the history of the program to homer at least five times in a season and her seven career long balls rank tied for seventh on the Red Devils' career list.
Smith joins classmate Osborn as new All-SLIAC honorees after putting up a 6-3 record with 3.03 ERA in nine league starts in the circle this season. She threw 60.0 innings and her 29 strikeouts ranked seventh among SLIAC pitchers. For the full season, Smith was 12-3 with a save and a 2.36 ERA over 107.0 innings.
Through two seasons, Smith is already appearing on a pair of the Red Devils' career lists. Her 21 wins are 10th-most in program history and her career ERA of 2.66 ranks sixth.
Freshman outfielder Klaire Wilmot (La Salle, Ill./La Salle-Peru H.S.) was named to the SLIAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Each member school is represented by one player on the SLIAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
Greenville utility player Kate Jolliff Rosado was named SLIAC Player of the Year. Katie Price of league-champion Westminster was voted SLIAC Pitcher of the Year and WC outfielder Emily Holloway was picked SLIAC Newcomer of the Year. Fourth-year Westminster head coach Joe Henderson was named SLIAC Coach of the Year.
Eureka finished the 2018 season with a 25-9 overall record, its second 25-win season in the last three springs and its third 25-win season since 1996. EC went 11-7 in league action for a fifth-place finish.