Webster University softball player, Karissa Cardenas, has been declared the 2017 NCAA Division III statistical champion for 'Toughest To Strike Out'. Webster Athletics recently received notice of her feat as well as congratulations from the NCAA.
Cardenas (Henderson, CO/Prairie View), who graduated this spring from Webster with a degree in Business Administration, did not strike out during the past season in 102 plate appearances...quite a feat for a fast pitch softball player.
She reflected on her honor by noting, "My Dad taught me striking out is one of the worst possible things you can do because you don't give yourself a chance to get on base or move the runner, so I grew up absolutely hating striking out. I know most players do, but I had a special hatred for it. I made it a goal last year to have the least strikeouts on the team. It helped tremendously that Coach had us doing a lot of situational hitting at practice, so I worked on my two-strike hitting which then transferred over into games. I'm proud to say no pitcher struck me out my entire senior year and it is my favorite accomplishment because when my Dad looked at my stat line after games I know it made him proud.
Chris Eaton, her head coach at Webster, commented, "I knew she always had the ability to make good contact and was a tough out for us, but I didn't realize she hadn't struck out a single time. That she was the only one in NCAA III shows the magnitude of her accomplishment."
Cardenas is the first NCAA III statistical leader for Webster since the 2014 baseball team had the highest fielding percentage in the country, and the first individual since Christy Capkovic was recognized in 2009 as the NCAA III women's soccer national statistical champion for points and goals per game.
Cardenas recently attended the NCAA Career In Sports Forum in June. She was one of over 230 student-athletes nationwide who attended the forum in Indianapolis, IN. Cardenas was selected by a committee from the NCAA membership group and was the lone representative from St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
She will be the graduate assistant softball coach at Capital University in Columbus, OH, this coming year. Cardenas will be working on her Masters of Business Administration while coaching softball, working mainly with the infield and hitting. "I am very excited to work with coach Payne (at Capital), she played for Michigan and has a lot of knowledge and experience that I can learn from," Cardenas said.
The NCAA will send plaques for Cardenas and for the Athletic Department to display in its trophy case. Congratulations to her on her honor!
