Contact: Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243

May 16, 2022 - The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced their 2022 NCAA Division III All-Region team on Monday, seeing the Loras College softball team's freshman pitcher Ashlyn Hemm receive First Team accolades. After a breakout season in the circle for the Duhawks, Hemm is one of five student-athletes from the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) named to the First Team and first Duhawk to garner All-Region nods since Bria Lenten in 2018. 

Adding All-Region to her already stellar resume in just her first collegiate season, Hemm reeled in All-Conference honors last week on the heels of a record-breaking season for the Duhawks. A native of Port Byron, Ill., Hemm etched herself in the Loras College softball history books 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.