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Issued: May 6, 2008

FOUR SECURE NFCA DIVISION III ALL-REGION HONORS

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The UW-Eau Claire softball team has received recognition with four selections to the 2008 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Great Lakes Region team, NFCA officials announced today.

Three Blugolds were honored as first team recipients, while one was selection to the second team. Receiving first team honors were second baseman Casey Leisgang (Sr.-Seymour, Wis.), pitcher Jenny Ross (Fr.-Mendota Heights, Minn./Henry Sibley), and designated player Kristi Doucette (Jr.-Green Bay, Wis./Ashwaubenon). First baseman Jill Janke (Sr.-Black River Falls, Wis.) was selected as a second team recipient.

This is the fourth time Leisgang was selected as an all-region honoree. Last season she was a first team selection and the two seasons before she was named to the second team. Leisgang, who is the Blugolds’ all-time career home run leader, has the team’s best batting average this season, hitting .457, which is also second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). She leads the team and conference with 53 runs and is third in the WIAC with 58 hits. Earlier this season, Leisgang was selected as a NFCA Division III National Player of the Week, the first player selected for the recognition under head coach Leslie Huntington.

Ross receives honors on the all-region team for the first time. This season she is leading Eau Claire and the WIAC with a 19-2 record. She has started 20 games, pitching nine of them completely, while accumulating an ERA of 1.36. This season Ross sent down all 21 batters in the Blugolds’ 3-0 victory over UW-Oshkosh on April 15, pitching to Eau Claire’s only perfect game in program history. She also received WIAC Player of the Week honors twice this year.

Doucette was also honored for the first time as an all-region selection. Doucette has seen action in 35 games, including 30 starts, and is third on the team with a .422 batting average. She is sixth on the team with 35 hits and fourth with four home runs.

Janke made her fourth appearance on the all-region list as well. The three previous seasons she was selected as a first team recipient. The first baseman leads the team with 39 RBIs, which is also fifth in the WIAC, and is tied for third on the team with five home runs. She has a fielding percentage of .992, accumulating 329 putouts and 21 assists, while committing only three errors.

The WIAC was very well represented on the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region team. In all, eight of the 15 players on the first team were from the WIAC, while 12 others were selected to the second and third teams. UW-Oshkosh led all WIAC institutions with five overall selections.

2008 NFCA All-Region Teams Announcement

- KM -

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