As much as we love watching a DII softball pitcher dominate a game in no-hit fashion, let's not kid ourselves. We all love the home run. Nothing beats the sound of the bat and the ensuing roar of the crowd when a ball is blasted and disappears into the distance.
Here's a look at eight DII softball players who have brought the crowd to its feet more than anyone else over the past four or five seasons.
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DII softball active career home run leaders
76 — Kayson Boatner, Anderson (SC)
Boatner, per usual, is hitting home runs, leading the South Atlantic Conference with 15. The reigning SAC player of the year set her career high in home runs last season with 23, which was the second overall total in DII softball and tops in home runs per game. Boatner has at least eight games remaining to match the mark. She has a lot of gap-to-gap power, too, leading the SAC with 21 doubles last year. She is simply one of the more complete hitters in the division on an annual basis.
61— Ruby Salzman, West Texas A&M
You can’t talk DII softball home run hitters without Salzman, who has steadily been one of the best sluggers since her 16-home-run freshman debut in 2019. The only season she hasn’t reached double-digit home runs was the COVID-shortened 2020 season in which she had nine home runs in just 18 games. She currently has 14 home runs with more than 10 games remaining to hit three and set a new single-season high. While she is still 22 home runs shy of former Buff Ashley Hardin's Lone Star Conference career record, she'll go down as one of the best sluggers in conference history when it's all said and done.
55 — Hannah Marsteller, Shippensburg
Marsteller has been a bomber since she stepped on the field as a freshman, launching 10 homers in her debut season. She won the PSAC Triple Crown last season, hitting .533 with 17 home runs and 65 RBIs, all of which were tops in the conference. That was her second-straight season hitting .500 or better, so clearly Marsteller is much more than home runs. She has just eight home runs on the 2023 season but has nearly 20 games remaining to match her video-game-like numbers from the past two seasons.
HISTORY: Here are the DII softball programs with the most national championships
46 — Hannah Rose Corbin, Columbus State
Corbin is not only one of the best power hitters in the division, she just won the PBC pitcher of the week award — her second time doing so this season. The Cougars ace is clearly one of the most complete athletes in the division, but despite the pitching accolades, you can't overlook her offensive stats. She currently sits high up the list on the PBC leaderboard hitting .465 with 10 home runs and a league-best .621 on base percentage. Her single-season high is 16, so she has plenty of time to set a new personal record in 2023.
41 — Olivia Daugherty, Northwest Missouri State
Daugherty has never been amongst the DII softball home run leaders, but she has been a very steady presence in the Bearcats lineup. She is currently amid a career-best season, hitting .421 (0.31 points higher than her previous best) with 11 home runs, tying her career-high set in 2021... with pretty much a month's worth of games remaining to set the new bar. She's already second all-time in Bearcats history on the home run list and looks to keep moving up this list as April moves on.
41 — Paxton Scheurer, Angelo State
Scheurer had a 2022 that had more accolades than the home runs she has become known for. She was the 2022 LSC player of the year and an NFCA First-Team All-American just to name a few, putting together a season in which she hit .370 with 23 home runs and 72 RBIs, both of which were top-three marks in the division last year. Currently, she is hitting .341 with 13 home runs which is tied for 11th in DII softball. With 11 games remaining, Scheurer has a chance to climb the list on the heels of two very strong seasons.
40 — Alyssa LeBlanc, Texas Woman’s
Another dual-threat, LeBlanc is equal parts terrifying in the circle as she is at the plate. Transferring in from Texas A&M-Commerce, LeBlanc has posted a 1.70 ERA with a Lone Star Conference-best 211 strikeouts (second-most in DII, mind you). But we're here to talk about home runs, and LeBlanc has plenty. She's currently tied for fourth-most this season, hitting .398 with 16 home runs and 39 RBIs. Those 16 home runs are already a career best, coming off a 2022 when she belted 13 home runs. This is hands down the best season as a pitcher and hitter of her career, and she is one of the best all-around players in the division right now.
40 Morgan Hill, Valdosta State
Hill had a monster 2021, in which she put herself on the map with a 20-home-run season while going 7-2 with a 1.95 ERA in the circle. She has since ended her pitching career and her focus solely at the plate has resulted in a career-high .369 batting average. She also has a career-best 10 doubles with 11 home runs. With 11 regular-season games remaining, she may have trouble matching the career-high, but at 30-5, the Blazers are sure to see some postseason play, giving Hill a chance to both move up this list and crush her career bests.
