Stephanie West was one of five NKU softball players honored on the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Midwest Region team.
Complete All-Region teams
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University softball team was honored on Wednesday when five of its players were selected to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Midwest Region team, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced.
April Ehlers,
Rose Broderick,
Jessica Farris,
Emily Schwaeble and
Stephanie West all took home second-team honors.
Ehlers, a junior from Greenville, Ind., led the NKU pitching staff with a 1.54 earned run average while posting a 15-14 record and striking out 275 batters in 195 1/3 innings. Ehlers compiled four shutouts, saved three other games in relief and held opponents to just a .180 batting average. Ehlers also set a new single-game strikeout record by fanning 20 Drury batters in a 12-inning marathon on March 13.
With 672 career strikeouts, Ehlers is on pace to break the career strikeout record of 836, set by Krystal Lewallen between 2003-05. Ehlers also earned first-team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference honors.
Broderick, a senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, had an offensive resurgence during her final season with the Norse, hitting .349 with five home runs and 39 runs batted in. In addition, Broderick was one of most consistent Norse defenders with a .981 fielding percentage to lead NKU's everyday infielders. Broderick also earned a spot on the All-GLVC second team this season.
Jessica Farris, a sophomore from Independence, Ky., saw no slump coming off her dominant freshman season, as she led the team with a .366 batting average, 70 hits, 44 runs scored and six stolen bases. Farris was a solid leadoff hitter for the Norse, maintaining a team-best .419 slugging percentage. Farris adds a second-team All=GLVC honor this season to her already growing list of accolades as she named All-Region and the GLVC Freshman of the Year in 2009.
Schwaeble, a freshman from Cincinnati, Ohio, earned a spot as the second-team utility player and displayed the bright future NKU softball has in front of it. Playing right field and pitching for the Norse this season, Schwaeble posted a .319 average at the plate with six home runs, a team-best 13 doubles and 42 RBIs.
Schwaeble also posted an 11-2 record in the circle with a 1.70 earned run average in 19 appearances. She struck out 94 batters in 90 1/3 innings of work this season, including a dominant 12-strikeout performance in a 9-1 win over Missouri-St. Louis in the opening game of the GLVC Tournament. Schwaeble was also an All-GLVC third-team honoree.
West, a senior from Crestwood, Ky., used her educated bat to take home her first All-Region honor. West hit .295 on the season with 29 runs scored and led the GLVC with 19 sacrifices. She also finished second on the team with five stolen bases and was a key to the NKU offense this year. West was also honored on the All-GLVC second team.
NKU posted a 35-20 record on the year and returned to the GLVC Tournament championship game as well as the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Norse have increased their win total in each of the last three seasons, and the 35 wins are the most since the 2006 season, when the Norse went 41-21 and finished as the runner-up in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Tournament.
