Softball Player Makes DCTC History

Amanda Orrell named Blue Knights first softball All-American

Sophomore Amanda Orrell, an outfielder on the Blue Knights fastpitch softball team at Dakota County Technical College, was named a 2014 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Second Team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Orrell is a 2012 graduate of Pioneer Valley High School in Santa Maria, Calif., and led the Blue Knights with a .531 batting average and .609 on-base average.

Head Coach Tom Cross (left) and Amanda Orrell (center) during 2013-2014 season.

Blue Knights Fastpitch Softball Head Coach Tom Cross reported that Orrell is the first All-American in the history of the fastpitch softball program at DCTC and only the eighth All-American to come out of the college’s six athletics programs.

“Being named to the All-American Second Team by the NFCA is a very prestigious honor,” said Cross. “Amanda has been a steadfast member of our softball program’s rise at DCTC and in the region. There are about two thousand players at the NJCAA Division II two-year college level—and we had one of the best.”

Cross explained that Orrell started last season driving the ball and hitting with power. “In my opinion, Amanda was the best leadoff hitter in the country,” he said. “She raised havoc on the bases from the very beginning.”

The Blue Knights fastpitch softball team just completed their second season at DII. They won the regional championship in 2013 and finished as runner-up in May 2014. Read more about the team’s success in the Real Magazine article Softball Posts 2nd Consecutive 21-Win Season.