CANYON, Texas (KFDA) – West Texas A&M Lady Buff softball graduate Heidi Vortherms received a $10,000 postgraduate scholarship from the NCAA.
Each semester, 42 athletes who have completed their final year are selected, and the award is given to players who show exceptional leadership in their communities and demonstrate high athletic and academic capabilities.
Of the 21 women picked for the Spring semester, Vortherms was one of four softball players and the only selection from West Texas A&M University.
The South Dakota native was already named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District and All-Region this past season, and she was just as special on the field.
Of the 56 Lady Buffs wins, Vortherms was responsible for 20 of them — two of them by way of shutout — and just three losses in her 28 starts.
In 133 innings pitched, she faced 559 batters and put almost 25% of them away with strikeouts — a season high of 11 in February against Cameron.
She finished with a 2.05 ERA, the lowest from any Lady Buffs pitcher averaging over one inning pitched per game.
One of the more impressive stats in the box scores, just 24 walks on the season. An average of 1.26 per game which was tied for the 43rd best in the nation amongst all D2 pitchers.
Her on-field performances earned her First Team All-Conference and Second Team All-Region from the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) and National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).
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