June 5, 2014

CHICAGO - Mizzou Softball incoming freshman Paige Lowary was named the 2013-14 Gatorade Iowa Softball Player of the Year on Thursday, earning the honor from The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA Today High Scool Sports, for the second consecutive year.

Out of Dallas Center-Grimes High School, Lowary helped lead the Mustangs to the Iowa Class 4A State Championship as a junior last summer. She pitched to a 27-2 overall record with a 1.21 ERA, striking out 244 batters in 191.0 innings pitched. A first team all-state selection three times for head coach Steve Schlafke, Lowary was also impressive at the plate. The future Tiger hit .424 with five home runs, including 24 RBI, a .661 slugging percentage and a .510 on-base percentage.

Lowary earned her first Gatorade honor for the 2012-13 year with an outstanding 31-4 record in the circle with a 0.39 ERA. Lowary pitched the Mustangs to a state championship runner-up finish as a sophomore that season. She has been named the Iowa Girls' Athletic Coaches Association's Pitcher of the Year three times in her career.

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