After a highly successful 2021 season, a number of members of the Gilmour Academy softball program were recognized with postseason accolades.
Five Lancers were named as News Herald All-Star selections, two of which also earned all-district honors.
Emmy Klika '21 earned First Team honors from the News Herald and was an honorable mention all-district honoree. She was once again one of the Lancers' top offensive threats, leading the team in both RBI (29) and runs scored (20). Klika went 24-for-48 to hit an even .500 on the year while her five home runs helped her post a slugging percentage of .938. She struck out only once all season and made just three errors on the campaign while serving as the team's shortstop.
With her time as a Lancer complete, Klika officially reset Gilmour career records in both batting average and on-base percentage. She went 64-for-107 to finish with a career average of .598 while also posting a .631 OBP as a Lancer.
Megan Mlinaric '22 joined Klika in earning all-district honorable mention honors and was a News Herald Third Team All-Star. She was a two-way force for Gilmour, leading the team both at the plate and in the circle.
Mlinaric started 10 games on the season and went 6-3 with a 3.05 ERA across 59.2 innings. She struck out 41 batters on the season while allowing opponents to hit only .258 against her. Mlinaric posted a WHIP of 1.39 and also added a save in GA's win at West Geauga High School.
On the offensive end, Mlinaric was lethal, leading the juggernaut GA offense. She led the team in batting average (.581), on-base percentage (.654), slugging percentage (1.186), hits (25) and walks (8). Fourteen of her 25 hits went for extra bases as she posted eight doubles and six home runs on the season. Mlinaric also led the team with 10 two-out RBI.
On the strength of her strong 2021 season, Mlinaric already owns two career Gilmour marks with one season left to play. Her 15 doubles and her 175 strikeouts are both the highest such figures in Lancer history.
Three other Lancers—Alaina Giampietro '22, Laney Klika '23 and Clare Peterson '23—were named to the News Herald Honor Roll list.
Giampietro hit .414 on the season while posting a .514 OBP and a .690 SLG%. She was third on the team with 15 runs scored and added 11 RBI and a pair of long balls. Giampietro was also a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen bases and was error-free in 51 chances in the field.
Laney Klika was third on the team with her .452 batting average while adding a .558 OBP. She was second on the squad in runs (18) and walks (7) and tied for third in hits (19). Klika also was by far the Lancers' top threat on the basepaths, swiping 11 bags during the season. She hit .611 with runners in scoring position and did not commit a single error while tallying 35 assists and 18 putouts.
Peterson hit .432 on the season while pounding seven extra-base hits to record a .705 slugging mark. She led the team with three triples, tied for third on the team with 19 hits and added 14 runs and 10 RBI. She also contributed in the circle as she appeared in five games and 17 innings. She posted a record of 3-1 on the season while accumulating 13 strikeouts. Opponents hit .263 off of Peterson during the season.
After the season concluded, the Gilmour coaching staff presented seven individuals with team awards.
Hannah Weltle '21 earned the team's Lancer Award, bestowed upon the student-athlete who best represents what it means to be a Lancer. The award is given to a person who is not only a good athlete and student, but also a good teammate and member of the community.
Emmy Klika and Mlinaric were named Co-Offensive Players of the Year while Laney Klika was named as the team's Defensive Player of the Year.
Peterson was named the team's Rookie of the Year.
Brinn MacLellan '21 and Cayla See '21 each were presented with a Coaches Award.
The Lancers finished with an 11-4 record this past season that included a nine-game winning streak. Gilmour won a Sectional title to advance to the OHSAA District Tournament before dropping a tough 11-9 decision to three-time defending state champion Champion High School.
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