Five Tigers earn CSC Academic All-District honors in Softball

| 2024 CSC Academic All-District Softball Team release |

SPRINGFIELD — Wittenberg seniors Julia Burch (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) and Kira van Ravensberg (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista), junior Harper Crews (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln) and sophomores Julia Hall (Powell, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) and Lilly James (Troy, Ohio/Troy) were named to the College Sports Communicators NCAA Division III Softball Academic All-District Team for the 2024 season, the organization announced on Tuesday.

The CSC Academic All-District Team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. To earn CSC Academic All-District distinction, student-athletes must be a sophomore or above in class standing with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.50 while meeting athletic participation requirements. In softball, pitchers must have pitched at least 25 innings or appear in at least 17 games, and non-pitchers must have competed in 90% or started at least 66% of the team's total games.

Burch, an accounting major, boasts a 3.90 GPA and started all 42 of the Tigers' games this season. She finished the year with a .377 batting average to go with 55 hits, five doubles, 10 RBIs, 31 runs and 22 steals while committing just one error defensively in the outfield for a .980 fielding percentage. Her stolen base total ranked second in the North Coast Athletic Conference and is eighth all-time at Wittenberg for a single season, and her hit total tied for third in the NCAC and is fourth all-time at Wittenberg. Burch was named NCAC Player of the Week on April 2 and was an All-North Coast Athletic Conference First Team selection.

Now a two-time All-NCAC First Team selection, Burch has a .365 batting average with 160 hits, 15 doubles, one triple, 50 RBIs, 94 runs and 45 steals in 139 career games at Wittenberg. She ranks fifth all-time in both hits and steals, seventh in runs and 10th in batting average.

Van Ravensberg, a psychology major, boasts a 3.78 GPA and made 23 appearances with 22 starts in the pitching circle for the Tigers in 2024. She finished the year with an 8-10 record, 3.16 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 108.2 innings, which included four complete games and two shutouts. She ranked fifth in the NCAC in innings pitched, tied for seventh in wins and 10th in ERA.

Over four seasons at Wittenberg, van Ravensberg has pitched 377 innings in 85 appearances, including 68 starts. She has a career record of 28-34 with three saves, a 4.10 ERA and 125 strikeouts. She ranks eighth all-time in innings pitched, ninth in wins and 10th in strikeouts.

Crews, a psychology major, boasts a 4.00 GPA and started all 34 of the games in which she played in 2024. She finished the season with a .306 batting average, 26 hits, three triples, 10 RBIs, 10 runs and nine steals while committing just four errors defensively in the outfield for a .907 fielding percentage. She led the team and tied for third in the NCAC in triples.

In 86 career games at Wittenberg, Crews has a .273 batting average with 39 hits, one double, three triples, 10 RBIs, 21 runs and 12 steals.

Hall, a marketing major, boasts a 3.83 GPA and made 25 appearances with 17 starts in the pitching circle this season. She finished the year with a 6-8 record, 3.99 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 87.2 innings, which included one complete game.

In two seasons at Wittenberg, Hall has pitched 148.2 innings in 45 appearances, including 28 starts. She has a career record of 11-15, a 4.94 ERA and 57 strikeouts.

James, a nursing major, boasts a 3.78 GPA and made 34 appearances with one start in the pitching circle in 2024. She finished the year with a 7-3 record and nine saves to go with a 3.40 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 72 innings. She led the NCAC in saves, ranked fourth in strikeouts and tied for 10th in wins. James was named NCAC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 27 and was selected to the All-NCAC Third Team.

In two seasons at Wittenberg, James has pitched 115 innings in 58 appearances, including two starts. She has a career record of 7-5, a 4.08 ERA, 115 strikeouts and a program-record 12 saves.

The Tigers finished the 2024 season with a 21-21 overall record and placed fourth in the NCAC with a 7-7 conference mark under first-year head coach Ashley Goodwin. They increased their win total by 11 from the 2023 season, broke the program record for single-season steals with 129 and qualified for the four-team NCAC Tournament for the 14th time in program history and first since 2018.

Academic All-District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. First, Second and Third Team Academic All-America honorees will be announced June 18.