Four Belles Garner NFCA All-Region Honors

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A program record four members of the Saint Mary's softball team were tabbed as All-Region for the Central Region as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

Cassie Young garnered her third consecutive First Team All-Region honor while Jamie Young was the shortstop selection for the First Team in 2018. Morgan Raymer claimed one of the two pitching spots on the Second Team while Makenzie Duncan was an at-large selection on the Second Team.

Cassie Young was one of three outfielders named to the First Team and currently ranks 23rd among all NCAA Division III softball players in batting average. The senior also currently ranks in the top 100 among all players in the nation in hits (27th), on-base percentage (42nd), and runs batted in (88th). Young is listed in the top 200 nationally in RBI per game (190th), sacrifice hits per game (151st), and total bases (122nd). It is the third consecutive time she has been named First Team All-Region for the Central Region. She is just the second player in program history to garner three First Team All-Region selections in a career.

Jamie Young was the only shortstop to earn a spot on the Central Region First Team in 2018. She set a new school record for hits in a season with 69, which also puts her ninth in the country among all NCAA Division III softball players in total hits this spring The senior currently ranks in the top 100 in batting average (96th), runs per game (36th), total bases (36th), toughest to strike out (98th), triples (35th), and triples per game (96th). It is her third All-Region selection and is the first First Team honor of her career. She is the third player in program history to be named All-Region three times during a career.

Morgan Raymer was one of three pitchers on the Second Team list. She established both single season and career win records for the softball program in 2018. The senior was also ranked among the nation's leaders in saves (19th), shutouts (41st), strikeouts (66th), and victories (24th). The MIAA Most Valuable Pitcher this spring, she has helped the team to the 26th-best earned run average in all of NCAA Division III softball as of the May 14 statistical ranking. The All-Region honor is the first of her career.

Makenzie Duncan was an at-large selection on the Central Region Second Team in 2018. The program's all-time record holder in triples and runs batted in, she is fifth among Division III softball players in RBI and seventh in triples this spring. She also ranks among the top 200 in batting average (188th), hits (54th), home runs (146th), RBI per game (ninth), sacrifice flies (70th), slugging percentage (77th), total bases (22nd), and triples per game (24th). The Second Team All-Region recognition is the first of her career.

It is the first time four members of the Saint Mary's softball team have been recognized with All-Region accolades by the NFCA. The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association was well-represented as 14 student-athletes made either the First, Second, or Third Team in 2018.

All-Region players are nominated and selected by NFCA member coaches in each of the eight Division III regions. First Team All-Region choices are eligible for selection to the NFCA All-America team, which will be announced the evening of May 23 online at NFCA.org and in person at the NCAA Division III Championship banquet in Oklahoma City.

For the full list of all of the NCAA Division III All-Region honorees, visit the NFCA release here.