NEW PALESTINE — The season may have ended a month ago, but the awards haven’t stopped coming in for New Palestine’s Ashley Prange.
Indiana’s Miss Softball recently added two more honors to an ever-growing list of accomplishments, as she has been named First-Team All-American by both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and MaxPreps.
The All-American nods — she’s one of 16 athletes named First-Team by the NFCA — top a list of recent honors for the Ohio State-bound Prange, including being named Gatorade’s Indiana Player of the Year, topping the Daily Reporter’s all-county team as the Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, and earning the MVP of the state all-star game in mid June.
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“It’s a huge honor to be on the list, let alone one of the top 16,” Prange said. “It’s so awesome to see all of my work from the last four years pay off.”
Prange finished her career as the state’s all-time home run leader and holds the record for most RBIs in a season. She helped lead New Palestine to two straight state championships and a top 10 national ranking in several polls.
New Palestine’s highly-successful softball program had never had a first-team All-American prior to Prange.
“I’m very happy for Ashley and it’s a great way to end an incredible high school career at New Palestine,” Dragons coach Ed Marcum said. “I’m very proud of all of her accomplishments, but mostly proud of the outstanding young lady the she is.”
The shortstop finished her senior year with a .594 batting average while scoring 51 times and knocking in 70 RBIs, a state record. Her 17 home runs brought her state career record to 46.