Cutie Taylor, a senior outfielder for the Illinois State softball team, has been named to the 2002 first-team Great Lakes All-Region Softball Team. Junior Audra Rast, a pitcher for the Redbirds, received honors for the second-team.
This is a great honor for both Cutie and Audra. They are very deserving of this regional honor, and they did everything in their power to help the team, said head coach
Melinda Fischer. Cutie was awesome at the plate and made some great plays in the field. I feel that Audra really showed what she is made of at the Valley tournament.
Taylor was named to the 2002 All-Missouri Valley Conference Team as a unanimous selection and was a second-team selection for the Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholar Award. Taylor led the Redbirds with a .404 batting average, 12 homeruns, and 41 RBIs.
Rast received the second-team All-Region selection after being named Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year. In addition, she received Valley Pitcher of the Week honors three times in the 2002 season. Rast led the Redbird pitching staff with an ERA of .99 and 235 strikouts, averaging over seven strikeouts per game.
Taylor and Rast will join other players at their positions to await the selection of the NCAA All-American Team, with that selection to take place later this month.
