Horizon League Co-Players of the Year among softball players honored on All-Region squads

May 17, 2007

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INDIANAPOLIS - University of Illinois at Chicago sophomore Sarah Clynes (First Team) and University of Detroit Mercy junior Kaleigh Rafter (Second Team) shared 2007 Horizon Player of the Year honors and were both honored as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-Region Teams were announced on Wednesday (May 16). Loyola University Chicago also placed two members on the All-Region groups with junior Katerina Krause and freshman Amy Solava being recognized on the Mideast Region's second squad.

Clynes led the Flames with a .391 batting average in 2007. The sophomore tallied a team-best 32 runs scored, 61 hits, 14 doubles and five home runs. She owned a team-high .590 slugging percentage and a .472 on-base percentage. As a rookie in 2006, Clynes earned Second-Team All-Horizon League honors, All-Newcomer Team accolades and was named the League's Newcomer of the Year.

Rafter set the Detroit career and single-season records for home runs this spring with 26 and 14, respectively. The junior slugger, who is part of the Canadian National Team, was third in the League in batting average (.413) and led the loop in home runs (14), total bases (98), on-base percentage (.538), slugging percentage (.810) and walks (32).

Krause posted monster offensive numbers for the Ramblers, who captured the 2007 Horizon League regular-season title. The slugging infielder hit .336 with team highs of nine doubles, 11 home runs and 28 RBI to go with a .406 on-base percentage and a .723 slugging percentage.

Solava picked up the conference's Pitcher of the Year award after posting the League's third-lowest ERA (2.21). She also led the loop in opposing batting average (.196), strikeouts (161) and saves (three).

With Clynes' first-team award, she is now eligible for All-American consideration. The team will be announced on the NFCA website (www.nfca.org) on Monday, May 30 at 5 p.m. (EST).

Note: The Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-Region Teams can be found on the PDF version of this release.