Kathryn Emmert named Player of the Year on All-Area softball team

Due to weather conditions, the state tournament had to be relocated from Belgrade to Helena, where the Bruins ended their season flawlessly at Mike Miller Field and bid farewell to their head coach, Mike Miller, who retired with a state title.

Kathryn Emmert had a standout senior season, breaking several Capital Bruins records including wins, starts, strikeouts, and complete games.

Emmert pitched all 29 innings of the state tournament, accumulating 42 strikeouts and earning the title of Montana Gatorade Player of the Year for softball.

Emmert, a two-time all-state selection, was also honored with the IR’s All-Area Player of the Year award, narrowly beating out strong contender Anna Cockhill.

Cockhill, a future Montana Grizzly, played a pivotal role in the championship game, securing a walk-off hit and scoring the winning run. Throughout the season, she demonstrated exceptional performance with impressive stats in batting, runs, hits, doubles, triples, homers, and stolen bases.

Both Emmert and Cockhill were named Offensive Players of the Year in their respective conferences.

Cockhill holds four Bruin records, three of which were set this season. She was part of a senior class that included Taylor Sayers, Belle Glowacki, and Riley Chandler, all of whom were recognized as all-area selections in 2024.

The complete all-area team is listed below. 

2024 IR Softball All-Area Team 

Gatorade Player of the Year, 2-time All-Stater, Western AA Conference Defensive Player of the Year; 19-3, 1.90 ERA, 195 Ks in 114 IP, 7 complete games; Offensively, .266 BA, 20 RBIs

Wins (19), Starts (22), Strikeouts (195), Complete games (7); Offensively, RBIs (46)  

Second team All-Conference; 7-8, 3.58 ERA, 99.2 innings, 100 hits, 176 strikeouts, 3 complete games; Offensively, .328 BA, 21 hits, .403 OBP

All-State, .398 average; Led CHS with 10 doubles (tie); also 20 runs, 35 hits, 27 RBIs, .413 OBP 

Honorable mention All-Conference (catcher); .366 average; led HHS with .505 OBP; also 26 hits, 16 RBIs, 7 doubles, 2 homers, .577 slugging

Honorable mention All-Conference; .361 average; led HHS with 29 runs, 30 hits, 26 RBIs, 8 doubles, 4 homers, .602 slugging, 4 steals; also .438 OB 

All-State; .397 average; Led CHS with 9 homers; also 20 runs, 25 hits, 29 RBIs, 5 doubles, .472 OBP, .904 slugging 

4-time All-Stater; 2-time Western Conference Offensive Player of the Year; .532 batting average, 45 runs, 42 hits, 10 doubles, 4 triples, 5 homers, 27 stolen bases, .619 OBP, .949 slugging

Batting Average (.532), Runs (52), Slugging (.949), Steals (27)

Batting Average (.486), Hits (155), Extra base hits (65), Runs (168), Homers (19), OBP (.586), Slugging (.850), Steals (82)  

All-State, .438 average; Led CHS with 34 RBIs, 10 doubles; also 23 runs, 35 hits, 34 RBIs, 2 triples, 2 homers, .471 OBP, .687 slugging

Second team All-Conference, .427 average, 31 runs, 32 hits, 19 RBIs, 8 doubles, .500 OBP 

Kathryn Seliskar, HHS, sr.

Honorable mention All-Conference; .289 BA; led HHS with 2 triples; Also 21 runs, 22 hits, 16 RBIs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, .393 OBP

Led HHS with .370 batting average; also 16 runs, 27 hits, 16 RBIs, two doubles, two homers  

Belle Glowacki, CHS, sr. 

Honorable mention All-Conference (second base); .367 BA, 20 runs, 29 hits, 25 RBIs, 5 doubles, 3 homers, .446 OBP, .569 slugging 

Kylee Gardipee, Helena, sr.

.333 average, 17 runs, 26 hits, 23 RBIs, 7 doubles, 3 homers, .411 OBP, .564 slugging

Maddie Surginer, East Helena, fr.

Led EH with .538 batting average, .676 OBP, 7 doubles; Shared lead with 14 hits, 11 RBIs (in 10 games); also 10 runs

Honorable Mention: Rylie Schlepp (HHS, P), Lauren Betz (EH, SS), Keeley Hamilton (EH, 2B), Faith Howard (HHS, 1B)