Payton Anderson (Contributed photo/Missouri Baptist University)

For the second time this season, Payton Anderson has been named as the American Midwest Conference softball Player of the Week. The conference office made the announced on Tuesday, April 28 after Anderson batted 12 for 19 in six games.

Anderson, a junior at Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis, is the daughter of Rob and Annie Anderson of Gillespie. After graduating from Gillespie High School in 2012, she signed with MBU to catch for the team. She is currently hitting .466 on the season with 56 hits in 116 at-bats.

During the six-game week last week, Anderson batted .632 with two homeruns, four doubles, nine RBIs while drawing three walks and one intentional walk.

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Payton Anderson (Contributed photo/Missouri Baptist University)

Payton Anderson was named Player of the Week last week for the American Midwest Conference after totaling three doubles and two home runs.

Anderson is a 2012 graduate of Gillespie High School and is currently on a softball scholarship at Missouri Baptist University where she is a junior. Anderson’s concentration is sports management with a minor in business.

Anderson is the team’s catcher and was hitting .339 at the time of publication with seven home runs on the season and 25 RBIs in the team’s first 22 contests. She has five doubles and a .780 slugging percentage. While catching, she has 15 assists and 61 putouts.

MBU’s softball team is 14-8 on the season with a 9-3 conference record. The team’s season will be ending at the end of April with their final two games scheduled against Blackburn on April 27.

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Gillespie High School’s Haylie Kirkwood has announced she will enroll at Illinois College in the fall and compete as a member of the school’s track and field team.

Kirkwood, a native of Dorchester, earned eight varsity letters at Gillespie competing for the school’s track and field and basketball teams. As a member of the track team, she helped her school to three county championships, three conference championships and a sectional championship during her prep career.

An honor roll student throughout her high school career, Kirkwood has also been active in the National Honor Society. In addition, Kirkwood was honored as co-valedictorian of her graduating class.

Kirkwood plans to pursue a degree following Illinois College’s pre-medicine career path.

Founded in 1829, Illinois College is a residential liberal arts college fostering academic excellence rooted in opportunities for experiential learning while preparing students for lifelong success.

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