By Mike Walsh
Correspondent
This has been quite the spring for Augustana College’s Nadia Ranieri.
The Riverside-Brookfield graduate has been chosen Pitcher of the Year in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. The junior lefty finished 15-4 with a 1.53 ERA in 23 appearances (21 starts) while helping the Vikings to an overall record of 22-20 and a conference mark of 9-7.
Ranieri, of North Riverside, tossed 15 complete games to go with six shutouts. Ranieri worked 137.1 innings, allowing 111 hits and an opponents’ batting average of .224. She struck out 183 and walked 34.
Ranieri was a four-time CCIW Pitcher of the Week this season and paced the conference in strikeouts with 157, good enough for second all-time in a season in conference games for the Vikings. She ranked second in the league in ERA at 1.64 and wins with 13.
In addition to her Pitcher of the Year honor, she was named First-Team All-Conference, becoming the first Augustana player since 2019 to do so. She is the first Viking to win either the conference’s Player of the Year or Pitcher of the Year since 2010.
In the classroom, Ranieri was one of five Vikings named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team.
Joining Ranieri on the academic team is infielder Olivia Blood, who also graduated from R-B. Blood batted .329 this season with 13 runs and 10 RBI.
Standing Tall
Troy Taller was one of three Elmhurst University graduate students to garner postseason accolades from the CCIW.
Taller, a pitcher/third-baseman who prepped at Andrew, was named to the All-CCIW Second Team for the first time in his career. He tallied a career-high 10 home runs this season to tie for the team and conference lead. He drove in 30 runs and slugged .563.
Taller was second on the Bluejays in runs (33), hits (44) and total bases (85), while finishing third in doubles (11) and fourth in batting average (.306). Elmhurst finished 15-21 overall and 6-12 in league play.
On the mound, the Tinley Park resident was 3-2 in eight appearances (seven starts) with 35 strikeouts.
A Little Respect
Isabelle Piwowarczyk was lauded as Illinois Wesleyan’s honoree for the CCIW’s RESPECT Award for the 2023 softball season.
RESPECT Award recipients have distinguished themselves as an integral member of the team, their institution and community by upholding the values of Responsibility, Enthusiasm, Service, Pride, Excellence, Collaboration and Trust.
Piwowarczyk, an Oak Lawn graduate and an outfielder for the Titans, appeared in 28 games (four starts) and scored nine runs. Wesleyan was 27-16 overall and 14-2 in conference.
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