As the spring season comes to a close for the Ichabods, junior Megan Deiter finished her first season wearing a Washburn uniform in excellent standing by beating the school record April 12 for most strikeouts given in a single season with 161 and ended the regular season with 177.

Deiter is no stranger to victory. She lead her Salt Lake High School team to three state titles with a team record of 91-6 and also won the MVP award for her performance during her sophomore season at Johnson County Community College, which consisted of 232 strikeouts and a 22-4 record. They placed fifth at the national tournament last spring. Deiter contributed 245 strikeouts for the season, and ranked third nationally.

Deiter made appearances in 24 games this spring as an Ichabod, pitching 132 innings and ending with a 2.01 ERA.

Deiter began her softball career at the age of seven, where she found a passion for pitching and hasn’t stopped since. Although she tried third base and shortstop early in her career, the love for the mound emerged and was too powerful to ignore.

“It was about my sophomore year of high school when I realized how passionate I really was [about softball] and how many lessons you can carry over from the game to your everyday life,” said Deiter.

Though she spends about three hours a day on the softball field, Deiter credits her coaches and teammates for her success. She also says that she attends pitching lessons in the summer, which likely contributed to her nine strikeout-per-game average this season.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the constant support of my parents [Michael and Betty Deiter] who have never missed a game, and the constant push from my coaches and the backup from my team of course,” Deiter said.

After Dieter went 16-0 heading into the last regular season doubleheader, she said ending with a 17-1 record after her one loss on the season was a bitter pill to swallow. Although it took a few days to get over, it was a humbling experience.

“It feels pretty awesome [being 17-1], losing the undefeated record sucked and I was angry for a few days but realized it was a learning experience,” Deiter said.

Deiter managed to win Hy-Vee Athlete of the Week twice this spring season, as well as MIAA pitcher of the week back in March.

After taking a month off to rest her shoulder, Deiter plans on practicing this summer before returning to play next season and aim to beat the high standards that she has set for herself.