Morningside went 13-4 over its final 17 games to finish the 2015 softball season with a 27-21 record.

Morningside College used a strong second half finish to close out the 2015 softball season with a 27-21 record for its 13th consecutive winning season under head coach Jessica Jones-Sitzmann.

The Mustangs, who went 13-4 over their final 17 games, just missed earning a seventh consecutive appearance in the NAIA Softball National Championship tournament when they lost against Concordia University in the Great Plains Athletic Conference Softball Tournament Championship Series.

Jacey Tomhave, a senior first baseman from Valparaiso, Neb., was the Mustangs’ batting champion with 43 hits in 125 at-bats for a .344 batting average to go along with two doubles, four home runs, and 25 RBIs.

McKenzie Anderson, a sophomore outfielder from Lincoln, Neb., was the Mustangs’ top power hitter and run producer. Anderson hit .321 with a team-high eight home runs and 47 RBIs. Her 47 RBIs was the ninth highest single-season total in Morningside history. Aside from leading the Mustangs in home runs and RBIs, Anderson also topped the Mustangs with 52 hits and a .543 slugging percentage and was their co-leader with 10 doubles and 36 runs scored. Anderson led the Mustangs with 14 multiple hit games and had the team’s longest hitting streak of the season when she hit safely in nine consecutive games from March 7 to March 19.

Elin Landgren, a sophomore catcher from Des Moines, Iowa, was the Mustangs’ other co-leader with 36 runs scored. Landgren batted .284 and topped Morningside with a .468 on-base percentage. She was hit by a pitch 26 times for the third highest single-season total in NAIA history.

Kristina Neumann, a junior third baseman from Sioux City, and Taylor Daas, a senior second baseman-shortstop from New Brighton, Minn., each slugged 10 doubles to share the team lead with Anderson.

Neumann batted .284 and also topped the Mustangs with 25 walks and 16 sacrifices. Her 25 walks was the sixth highest total in Morningside history.

Daas, a four-year starter, batted .279 and finished her career with a .347 batting average with 34 doubles, 18 home runs, and 94 RBIs.

Brittany Gill, a freshman outfielder from Lincoln, Neb., hit .297 and was the Mustangs’ top threat on the base paths with a team-high 16 stolen bases in 17 attempts for the fourth highest single-season stolen base total in the Mustangs’ annals.

Faith Schmidt, a junior from Emmetsburg, Iowa, was the ace of the Mustangs’ pitching staff with a 16-11 record and a 2.35 earned run average. Aside from leading the Mustangs in wins and ERA, Schmidt also topped the team with 25 starts, 16 complete games, four shutouts, 173 innings pitched, and 95 strikeouts.

Carlie Maasz, a sophomore pitcher from Sleepy Eye, Minn., went 4-4 with a 2.45 earned run average and was the team leader with three saves to match the third highest total in Morningside history.

The Mustangs posted a 27-21 record during the 2015 season and finished fifth in the GPAC standings with an 11-9 league record.