WHITTIER, Calif. (July 31, 2024) – Recent graduate Emily Adkison '24 of the Whittier College softball team has received the NCAA statistical award for "Toughest to Strike Out" during the 2024 softball season.

Adkison, who was well known in the SCIAC for her contact skills, went the entire length of the season without incurring a single strikeout. As a result, she stood out as one of six players nationally to accomplish the feat, though the All-Region X player is the only athlete in her region to have avoided striking out.

The first baseman's ability to make contact extends far beyond the 2024 season. In three seasons at Whittier, Adkison struck out just three times. All three of those instances occurred during her sophomore season, which means the Laguna Niguel-native finished her Whittier career having averaged just one minuscule strikeout per season against 327 plate appearances.

For her career, Adkison, the Whittier Female Presidential Scholar Athlete of the Year for 2023-24, finished with a .392 batting average, .492 on-base percentage, and .614 slugging percentage. She also totaled 42 extra-base hits, including 13 home runs to go with 70 RBIs and 66 runs scored, hitting almost exclusively in the top-three spots in the Poets' order.
 

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