Six #HLSB Standouts Garner Division I All-Region Accolades

LOUISVILLE, Ky.-- Six Horizon League players from three different squads received NFCA Division I All-Region Team honors, announced Thursday. UIC placed three student-athletes on the Great Lakes Region Teams as Jacki Fletcher was awarded Second Team accolades while teammates Natalie Hernandez and Paige Peterson made the Third Team. Youngstown State was represented in the Midwest Regional with Casey Crozier and Miranda Castiglione making the Second Team as well as Valparaiso’s Kaitlyn Ranieri.

The 2014 NFCA Division I All-Region Teams were comprised of 392 impressive players from 158 different programs across the United States. The awards honor softball student-athletes from 10 different regions with first, second and third teams each selected, respectively. The all-region teams were voted on by NFCA member coaches from each respective region, and all the honorees now become eligible for selection to one of three 2014 NFCA Division I All-American teams.

Fletcher started all 43 contests for UIC this season and hit for a .362 average with 50 hits, 28 RBIs and 12 multi-base hits. The First Team All-League honoree posted a slugging percentage of .493 and an on-base percentage of .414.

Hernandez garnered her second-consecutive All-League First Team accolade this season as the junior tallied a .413 batting average collecting 64 hits, 40 RBIs and a slugging-percentage of .723. She hit 10 doubles, one triple and 12 home runs on the year and held an on-base percentage of .429.

Peterson collected Second Team All-League honors after an impressive season at the plate for UIC. She hit for a .404 batting average with 42 hits, seven multi-base hits and an on-base percentage of .466.

Youngstown State’s Crozier was selected as the Horizon League Pitcher of the Year and to the First Team All-League. The senior set program career and single-season records this year totaling 565 career strikeouts and fanning 196 batters in 2014.

Teammate Castiglione was named the Co-Horizon League Player of the Year and selected to the First Team All-League this season. The sophomore ended her 2014 campaign hitting a team-high .395 batting average, 70 hits, 43 runs scored and tallied 112 bases.

Valparaiso’s Katelyn Ranieri hit for an average of .370 with 38 runs scored, 33 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .460. The Co-Horizon League Player of the Year and First Team All-League honoree totaled 67 hits this spring to mark the fourth-most in a single season in program history.

The 2014 NFCA Division I All-America teams will be announced at approximately 5 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 28, via NFCA.org.