BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Dakota State University junior softball player Hannah McFarland earned first-team All-North Star Athletic Association honors for the second straight year, capping a season in which she led her team in multiple categories and set a school record for career stolen bases.
McFarland, a 2022 Bradford High School graduate, batted a team-high .357 for the Madison, South Dakota school and also led Dakota State in on-base percentage (.439), hits (46), doubles (13), walks (18), runs scored (34) and stolen bases (24 on 24 attempts). Her number of stolen bases ranked her second in the NSAA.
In three seasons, McFarland has 65 stolen bases, putting her ahead of Lori Olen (2004-07) and Carrington Entringer (2022-23), who each had 53.
McFarland, who was a second-team NSAA selection her freshman year, earned a Golden Glove Award for her defense for the second straight year. The outfielder had only one error, finishing with a 9.89 fielding percentage.
Some of McFarland’s notable games this past season included:
—3 for 3 with a double, three runs scored and a stolen base in a 9-1 win over York (Nebraska) on Feb. 21.
—3 for 4 with a double, two runs scored and a stolen base in a 9-4 loss to Hastings (Nebraska) on Feb. 22.
—3 for 5 with two doubles, two runs scored and a stolen base in an 8-7 loss to Morningside (Iowa) on March 2.
—2 for 3 with a double, an RBI and a stolen base in a 17-1 loss to Bethany (Kansas).
—2 for 3 with two runs scored in an 11-0 win over Waldorf (Iowa) on March 18.
—2 for 4 with two runs scored and three stolen bases in a 14-10 loss to Waldorf on March 18.
—Two RBI in a 12-2 loss to Valley City State (North Dakota) on March 28.
—3 for 4 with a double, two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base in a 13-5 loss to Mayville State (North Dakota) on April 19.
—2 for 3 with a double and a run scored in a 10-2 loss to Bellevue (Nebraska) on April 25.
—2 for 5 with an RBI and three runs scored in a 10-6 win over Bellevue on April 25.
—2 for 3 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base in an 8-2 loss to Bellevue on May 1.
—2 for 2 with a run scored and a stolen base in a 5-2 loss to Valley City State (North Dakota) on May 2.
