NIACC's Lienhard wins inaugural NFCA Joan Joyce Award

MASON CITY – The awards keep compiling for NIACC's Laken Lienhard.

Lienhard, a sophomore from Cresco, was selected as the National Fastpitch Coaches Association NJCAA Division II's inaugural Joan Joyce Utility/Pitcher of the year for the 2023 season on Friday.

The award goes to the NFCA NJCAA Division II first-team all-American utility/pitcher.

"Watching Laken compete this year was incredible," second-year NIACC coach Matt Egger said. "Her leadership and dedication meant so much to this year's team (our program) and it is awesome to see her efforts be rewarded like this."

Lienhard.is NIACC's first NFCA NJCAA first-team all-American since Kendall Cornick earned the honors as an outfielder in 2016.

Lienhard is one of three ICCAC players to earn NFCA first-team all-American honors. Kirkwood's Sydney Roe was selected as a first-team first baseman and DMACC's Sydney Kennedy was a first-team pitcher.

Earning second-team NFCA all-American honors from the ICCAC were DMACC's Maddy Kearns (third base) and Kendal Clark (outfield) and Iowa Lakes' Alyssa Thorson (outfield)

Last month, Lienhard was selected as the 2023 ICCAC Division II offensive player of the year. She was also an all-NFCA NJCAA Division II Midwest Region first-team selection (utility/pitcher).

Lienhard was a second-team (utility/pitcher) NFCA NJCAA all-American selection in 2021.

Lienhard's 2021 softball season, however, ended with her playing with a broken right hand.

The injured hand caused her to miss the entire 2022 softball season.

Lienhard decided to come back to NIACC for a third year of classes in the 2022-23 school year and also her second year of softball. 

And she also picked up another sport - wrestling. 

Lienhard shined in both during her final season on the NIACC campus. 

Lienhard was ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA women's wrestling rankings at 143 pounds for the entire season.

She was also selected as the ICCAC women's wrestler of the week for the week of Nov. 7-13. 

She placed fourth at the NJCAA Women's Wrestling Invitational in Council Bluffs earning all-American honors along with three of her teammates, who were a part of NIACC's first-ever women's wrestling team. 

"Having Laken receive (NFCA) first-team all-American honors is a tremendous accomplishment," said Egger, who was the 2023 ICCAC coach of the year, "especially when you add that to her all-American honors in wrestling back in March.

"Practicing/competing in two separate sports with each demanding a different skillset that also competed/overlapped competition season and winning the top honors for each at the collegiate level is unheard of."

Once the wrestling season was over, Lienhard turned her full attention to softball where she helped lead the Trojans to an overall record of 36-13 and a second-place finish in the ICCAC with a record of 19-5. 

The second-place finish in the league allowed the Trojans to host the NJCAA Region 11-B tournament for the first time in school history.

Lienhard hit .480 with 27 doubles, 13 home runs and drove in 53 runs. As a pitcher, Lienhard was 19-5 with 126 strikeouts and 35 walks with a 2.73 earned run average.

She was selected as the ICCAC Division II pitcher of the week for the week of Feb. 20-26, the ICCAC pitcher/player of week for the week of April 3-9 and the ICCAC player of the week for the week of April 25-May 1.

She leaves NIACC was the school's career leader in doubles (39), home runs (27), walks (57), runs scored (118) and strikeouts (282).

Lienhard ranks second in career hits (133), fourth in career batting average (.459). fourth in career wins (27) and sixth in career RBIs (83). 

"She is one of the hardest working athletes I think I have ever been around," Egger said. "I know I haven't been around NIACC for a long time but I would have to think she could be/should be/will be considered one of the top female student athletes to ever attend NIACC.

"What she accomplished this year will be very hard to duplicate. I am not saying it will never happen again, I hope it does. But it might be a while before I see anything else like it."

WHO WAS JOAN JOYCE?

Joan Joyce, who passed away in March of 2022, was a softball player on the national and international level (utility/pitcher) from 1954-66.

Joyce tossed 150 no-hitters and 50 perfect games with a lifetime earned run average of 0.09.

Over 19 seasons, Joyce compiled a win/loss record of 753-42 with more than 10,000 strikeouts.

She also had 153 career doubles and hit .467 in 1971.

Joyce struck out Ted Williams in an exhibition in 1971 and Hank Aaron in 1978.

Joyce coached at Florida Atlantic University up until her death in 2022. She recorded a record of 1,002-674-1 and led FAU to 11 conference championships and 11 NCAA post-season tournaments and was voted the league's coach of the year eight times.