A pair of Tigers designated to All-GPAC Team

MITCHELL, S.D. – Under first-year head coach Derek Lien, a pair of Dakota Wesleyan University softball players were designated to the All-GPAC Team as both Alyssa Garcia (La Verne, Calif.) and Stephanie Gabel (Sioux Falls, S.D.) received All-GPAC Honorable Mention accolades.

 Garcia, who registered 34 starts this season, finished second on the team in both hits and RBIs for Dakota Wesleyan with 35 and 29, respectively and held a .318 batting average. In her 110 trips to the plate during the 2020-21 campaign, the Tiger senior registered a .491 slugging percentage along with a .367 on-base percentage. Garcia also tallied a trio of homeruns, 10 doubles, 20 runs scored and nine walks drawn over the course of the year.

 The DWU outfielder recorded a program record eight RBIs early in the season versus Presentation College as the Blue and Gray scored 16 runs on 19 hits. At the plate, Garcia scored four runs on three hits, including a pair of homeruns, and a walk drawn.

 Defensively, the LA Verne, Calif., native finished the season with a career-best 45 putouts along with three assists and a .980 fielding percentage. Garcia also secured one double play and a season-best four putouts versus both Concordia University and Tabor College.

 Meanwhile, Gabel paced the Tigers in several offensive categories including hits, RBIs and slugging percentage as the DWU infielder amassed a team-high 118 at-bats. On the season, Gabel tallied 40 hits, 32 RBIs and maintained a .551 slugging percentage. The Dakota Wesleyan senior also added four homeruns, one triple, 11 doubles and nine base-on balls.

In two of her 38 starts during the 2020-21season, the Sioux Falls, S.D, native recorded a season-best four RBIs against both Mayville State University and Northwestern College. Gabel also boasted three hits in five outings this season and registered a pair of doubles versus McPherson College.

 At the shortstop position, the Harrisburg High School product induced three double plays and led the conference in assists per game with 2.47 per contest. Gabel ended the season with a career-best 94 assists and was second in the conference in total assists. The 5-foot-7 senior tallied five assists in four contests during her senior campaign and ended the year with 46 total putouts.

 The Tigers finished the 2020-21 campaign with a 10-28 overall record and graduated a trio of seniors in Garcia, Gabel and Reagan Nebel (Hayti, S.D.).