Sophomore third baseman Becky McMurtry has been named a first-team all Great Lakes Region honoree, while senior pitcher Nicole Kurth and senior second basemanApril Schermann were each named second-team.
Thats a tremendous honor, head coach
Melinda Fischer said. Because of the size of the Great Lakes Region, the coaches dont have a lot of chances to see some of the other teams within our own region, so its quite an accomplishment.
McMurtry was named Most Valuable Player of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament after batting .583 as the Redbirds claimed their second consecutive Valley Tournament title. A 2001 first-team All-Valley pick, McMurtry is the leading hitter on the team with a .364 batting average and her 0.31 doubles per game is tied for 19th in the nation. A finalist for Valley Player of the Year, McMurtry hit an impressive .397, helping lead Illinois State to a 19-3 conference record and the regular-season championship.
Kurth received second-team all-region honors after posting a 24-4 with two saves and a 1.24 ERA. The 2000 Valley Tournament MVP, Kurth was a first-team all-conference pick and an MVC All-Tournament selection this season. The runner-up for the Valley Pitcher of the Year, Kurth has posted 12 shutouts and limited hitters to a .173 batting average on the year. With an 8-0 career record in Valley Tournament action, Kurth pitched all 33 innings for the Redbirds in last weeks Valley Tournament.
A First-Team All-Valley pick, Schermann ranks second on the team with a .359 batting average. Despite missing 12 games this season, she is tied with teammate Cutie Taylor for the team lead with 33 RBI heading into NCAA Regional play. Schermann hit .419 through the first 28 games of the year and was among the nations leaders before missing two weeks with back spasms. An MVC All-Tournament pick for the second straight year, Schermann was named an MVC scholar-athlete and to the Verizon Academic All-District pick.
Those three are the people that have been getting it done all season, Fischer added. Becky (McMurtry) had a great season and its unfortunate that April (Schermann) missed that stretch of games. Otherwise she may have had an even better season. Nicole (Kurth) has been consistent all season for us and a big part in the teams success.
The Redbirds open NCAA Regional play Thursday when they face Iowa at 2 p.m. in Iowa City, Iowa.
