BURNSVILLE — Southwest Minnesota State University softball senior third baseman Kali Tomlinson and junior outfielder/designated player Bailey Johnson were named to the 2021 All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference second team the league office announced on Wednesday. The all-conference teams and specialty awards were selected by the conference head coaches.

Tomlinson, a native of Las Vegas, Nev., batted .412 (42 for 102) in 30 conference games with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 24 RBIs. She led the NSIC in base hits (42), ranked second in both doubles and total bases (77) and finished ninth in batting average.

In 44 overall games, Tomlinson leads SMSU with a .397 batting average (60 for 151) with a school-record 17 doubles, 12 home runs and 43 RBIs. Her current .762 slugging percentage ranks first in team single-season history, the 12 home runs rank second in single-season history, while her 42 runs scored is the third highest in team single-season history. Tomlinson has a team-leading 19 multi-hit games and a team-high 10 multi-RBI games.

In the SMSU career record book, Tomlinson ranks second in both slugging percentage (.626) and doubles (46), third in home runs (30) and total bases (336), fourth in RBIs (123) and batting average (.365) and seventh in hits (196).

Johnson, a native of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, earned All-NSIC honors for the second time in her career after being named first team in 2019. She batted .361 (35 for 97) with 11 doubles, three home runs, 15 walks and 16 RBIs in 30 conference games. She tied for third in the conference in doubles, ranked seventh in walks, 10th in on-base percentage (.466), and 14th in hits (35).

For the season, Johnson is hitting .361 (52 for 144) with 16 doubles, five home runs, 28 RBIs and a team-high 19 walks in 44 games. Her 16 doubles rank second in team single-season history.

In the SMSU career record, Johnson currently ranks first in slugging percentage (.627), doubles (50) and on-base percentage (.474), second in batting average (.378), fifth in walks (69), sixth in total bases (279), tied for seventh in home runs (15) and tied for 12th in hits (168).

Southwest Minnesota State, 26-18 overall, returns to action today at the NSIC Tournament in Rochester. SMSU, which earned the seventh seed in the 10-team tournament, will face 10th seed Northern State at 10 a.m.

SMSU’s 26 victories are the programs highest win total since the 2015 team finished with 27, while the seventh-place regular season finish is its highest since the 2011 season.

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