Northwest Missouri State head baseball coach Darin Loe has announced the signings of three student athletes to the 2016 Bearcat roster. Andrew “AJ” Nitzchke (Lawton, Iowa), Mitchell Worthington (Maryville, Mo.) and Ryan Laddish (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) all committed to playing with the Bearcats.
“I am excited about these three individuals joing the Bearcat baseball team,” said Loe. “All three are top level players that fulfill the current needs of our program. They are all talented, great students and high character individuals.”
Worthington earned first team all-district honors and second team All-MEC accolades as a junior for Maryville High School. The 6-3 pitcher helped lead the Spoofhounds to a district and sectional championship in 2012. Worthington also excelled in soccer, earning all-state, all-district and All-MEC honors as a midfielder.
Nitzschke was a first team All-Western Valley Conference as a junior after earning second team honors as a freshman and as a sophomore at Lawton-Bronson High School. He was named first team all-district as a junior and earned all-state honorable mention accolades as a sophomore. He helped lead his team to a 2013 district and conference championship. Nitzchke is a member of the Principal Cabinet, an A Honor Roll recipient and earned all-confernece and all-state honors in speech.
A first baseman and pitcher for Lee’s Summit High School, Laddish was an All-Suburban Big 6 honorable mention performer as a junior. Over the summer he hit .347 with five triples, eight doubles and 29 RBI. On the mound, he went 4-1 with a 2.30 ERA and held opponents to a .176 average in just over 21 innings of work. He is a member of the honor roll and has lettered four times in baseball and three times in football.
Northwest Missouri State University head softball coach Ryan Anderson has announced the signings of three student-athletes to the 2016 Bearcat softball roster. Kiana Baderdeen (Gardner, Kan.), Rachel Smith (Kimbalton, Iowa) and Alexis Kelsey (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) all signed National Letters of Intent with the Bearcats.
“We are looking for all three indvidiuals to step in and contribute immediately,” said Anderson. “Kiana and Alexis both bring bats that we hope can impact the lineup. We’ve seen Rachel quite a bit the past couple of years. She has put up good numbers and we hope she can step in and replace our outgoing seniors next season. We are excited to get all three student-athletes here.”
Smith has compiled over 1,200 strikeouts in her career at Exira-EHK High School, winning 83 games with a 0.66 ERA. She is a three-time All-Rolling Valley Conference and all-district performer. She has twice earned first team all-state honors from the Omaha World Herald. She was a third team all-state performer as a sophomore. She has led her team to three regional final apperances. Smith has also earned all-state, all-conference and all district honors in basketball. She is a member of the National Honor Society and is a three time honor roll recipient.
Kelsey is a two-time all-conference performer for Linn-Mar High School. She holds the program record with a .947 slugging percentage. The infielder was also named all-metro twice, earning honors during her freshman and sophomore seasons.
A 5-6 infielder from Gardner Edgerton High School, Baderdeen earned first team all-district honors last season as a junior after earning second team honors as a freshman. Baderdeen also earned first team All-EOC honors as a freshman.
— Northwest Sports Information —