Gurnee Native Ricci Named All-Conference in Softball at UW-Whitewater

2016 May 10

Amy Ricci, a native of Gurnee, IL, and member of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team, was one of six Warhawks named All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for their performances during the 2016 season.

Junior first baseman Amy Ricci (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township), freshman pitcher Julia Camardo (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove), freshman outfielder Caitlin Catino (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) and freshman shortstop Emily Rux (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) were selected to the first team.

Sophomore outfielder Mallory Klotz (New Berlin, Wis./West) and freshman catcher Nikki Mikosz (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) garnered honorable mention accolades.

All six players helped the Warhawks (28-12 overall) win their fourth straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship title and reach the NCAA Division III Tournament for the fourth consecutive year.

Ricci, a 2014 honorable mention All-WIAC pick, is tied for third in the conference and tied for first on the team with 35 runs batted in. She is hitting .339, has drawn 14 walks and is fielding .991 for the season.

Camardo has been UW-Whitewater's ace during the 2016 campaign. She enters the NCAA Tournament with a 17-4 record and a 1.97 earned run average in 27 appearances, including 18 starts, 16 complete games, four shutouts and two saves. Camardo leads the league in wins, shutouts, innings pitched (149 1/3), strikeouts (160) and opponents' batting average (.205).

Catino ranks among the WIAC's top 10 in batting average (.362, 10th), runs scored (40, T-1st), RBI (31, 5th), total bases (70, 3rd), hits (47, T-5th), home runs (4, T-4th), triples (3, T-3rd), stolen bases (10, T-7th), on-base percentage (.424, 9th) and slugging percentage (.538, 7th). She was named WIAC Position Player of the Week for the week of March 21-27 after hitting .611 with seven RBI during a 5-1 week.

Rux is batting .350 and is tied with Ricci for the team lead and third in the conference with 35 RBI. She also leads the team with 13 sacrifice hits and has four doubles and three home runs.

Klotz leads the team and is tied for fifth in the league with a .375 batting average. She ranks second in the WIAC with 51 hits and is tied with Catino for the conference lead in runs scored (40). A 2015 first team all-conference and third team all-region honoree, Klotz is also tied for third in the league in triples (3), fifth in total bases (67) and seventh in on-base percentage (.433).

Mikosz is batting .327 and ranks among league leaders in doubles (12, 3rd), RBI (25, 9th), total bases (60, 10th), walks (14, T-5th) and slugging percentage (.531, 8th). She is the team's top hitter in WIAC games only with a .444 batting average and 15 RBI.

The Warhawks continue in the postseason and open the NCAA Tournament this Friday at 2:30 p.m. against St. Thomas (Minn.). Check back later this week for a preview of the event.