Contact: Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243
 
May 11, 2021 – The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced the 2022 All-Conference Softball Team on Wednesday, seeing two Duhawks from the Loras College softball team (22-10, 7-9 A-R-C) earn the honor. In her breakout season in the circle, Ashlyn Hemm received the accolade for the first time of her career while senior outfielder Ellie Schill capped her career off in purple and gold with her first-career honor.
 
Hemm, a freshman pitcher from Port Byron, Ill. was dominant force for the Duhawks in her first collegiate season. The right-hander etched herself in Loras College softball history early in the season, setting the program's new single-game strikeouts record against Augsburg University in the Duhawks' first game of THE Spring Games in Leesburg, Fla. The freshman racked up 20 strikeouts in the game, facing 23 batters and only allowing a single hit without allowing a walk or a run. Hemm closed out the season as the new single season strikeouts record holder, fanning 214 batters in 145.2 innings pitched while throwing 14 complete games with eight shutouts and one combined no-hitter on Feb. 24 against Edgewood College. The All-Conference honor comes after Hemm garnered national attention in the regular season by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) as the National Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 22 as the Duhawks received their first-ever national ranking by the association in the same week. On top of recognition on the national stage, the freshman hurler was named A-R-C Softball Pitcher of the Week five times in the 2022 season.
 
Schill, a senior outfielder from Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. was a vital piece of the Duhawks' success at the plate and in the field this season. In the field, Schill had a perfect season playing in center field, recording 40 putouts on the year with zero errors for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Starting in all 32 games of the season and batting in the leadoff spot of the lineup, Schill led the team with 31 hits, hitting 11 doubles, three triples, 11 RBIs, 17 stolen bases and a .323 batting average. The senior wraps up her career with a .281 batting average on 66 hits with 16 doubles and 28 stolen bases while receiving A-R-C All-Academic Team honors in 2020 and 2021.