Five Pioneers earn All-WIAC honors

MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville softball team garnered five all-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) selections, announced by the league office on Tuesday. 

Junior Lisa Karau was named first team, as the Mosinee, Wis., native led the Pioneers in six offensive statistical categories and ranked fifth in the WIAC with a .425 batting average and tied for third with 35 runs scored. She recorded a .650 slugging percentage and a .493 on-base percentage to go with her team-best 35 RBIs, which is the fifth most in Pioneer history. 

Freshman Jess Butzen, senior Becca Lowe, juniors MJ Patten and Haley Salazar all earned honorable mention honors. 

Butzen made the second-most starts in the circle in WIAC games. She posted the sixth-best earned run average (3.16) and opposing batting average (.280) in league action. The Neenah, Wis., native led the Pioneers with eight wins, 28 appearances and 15 complete games. She tossed 139.1 innings and totaled 90 strikeouts, the fifth most in school history. 

As the Pioneers' leadoff hitter, Lowe posted a .408 on-base percentage and had a 21-game reached base streak. She batted a .363 average and totaled the fifth-most hits for a Pioneer in a season with 53. The centerfielder from Byron, Ill., tallied 14 multi-hit games and started the year with a 10-game hit streak. 

Patten flourished at the plate in her first season at UW-Platteville, and was second on the team with a .397 batting average. She led the team and was tied for third in the league with 54 hits. Her 54 base knocks put her fourth in the Pioneer record book. 

Salazar saw the ball extremely well during conference play, as she batted .524, and recorded the second-best on-base percentage of .563. She tallied 22 of her 47 hits in conference play, good for sixth best in the league. The Sycamore, Ill., native finished the year with 30 RBIs and a .353 batting average.