Two Softball Players Named NFCA All-Region
May 19, 2009 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. - Two Ball State University softball players -- Alicia Barkley (Oklahoma City, Okla./Putnam City H.S.) and Elizabeth Milian (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc H.S.) -- have been named to the 2009 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I All-Great Lakes Region First Team.
The two Ball State selections mark the first Cardinals to be honored on the all-region first team since 1998, and the two selections in one season mark the first ever for a Ball State softball team.
The NFCA honors student-athletes from 10 regions, and are chosen by member coaches from each region. Barkley and Milian will now be eligible for the NFCA All-America teams, which will be announced May 27.
Barkley was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year and was selected to the All-MAC First Team after starting all 53 games for the Cardinals and tallying a .337 batting average. Barkley ranked second for the Cardinals with 55 hits, eight doubles and 32 runs-batted-in. The sophomore shortstop managed a .411 slugging percentage, while stealing 17 bases and recording two triples. Barkley became the third Ball State student-athlete in school history to earn MAC Player of the Year honors and the first since Katie Shea in 2002.
Milian was named the MAC Pitcher of the Year plus received the league's inaugural Nan Harvey Sportsmanship Award this season. She tallied a 21-15 overall record with a 2.22 earned-run average in 224 innings pitched. Her 21 victories rank as the fourth best single-season total in school history, while her 39 appearances ties her mark of 39 set in 2007 and ranks as the third best in Ball State annals. Milian compiled a 12-2 MAC record and struck out 85 batters in conference play. She tallied a Ball State single-season record 204 strikeouts on the season. In addition, Milian, who owns a 3.94 grade-point average on Ball State's 4.0 scale as a math education major was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V team.
Under the direction of 2009 MAC Coach of the Year, Craig Nicholson, the Cardinals won the school's first ever regular season MAC Championship in softball. Ball State completed the season with a 29-24 overall record, including an 18-3 conference mark.
