Ball State University Athletics
Softball's Lee & Steinbach Named to NFCA All-Region Teams
May 20, 2016 | Softball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - - Ball State softball freshman utility player Madison Lee (Cerritos, Calif./Cerritos) and senior pitcher Nicole Steinbach (Merrillville, Ind./Andrean) continued to earn praise for their play during the 2016 season, as both were named to National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region Teams as announced Thursday (May 19) by the NFCA.
Lee earned a nod on the Great Lakes All-Region Second Team in her debut season after leading the Ball State offense with a .345 batting average. Steinbach was named to the Great Lakes All-Region Third Team for the second straight season after compiling a 3.50 ERA and a 16-18 record in the circle.
Overall, the Ball State softball program has had at least one player named to a NFCA All-Region Team in each of the last five seasons, with at least two honorees in four of the five years.
In addition to her team-best batting average, Lee led the squad in hits (49), walks (24) and on base percentage (.443). She made the most of her first career at bat versus No. 25 South Alabama (Feb. 13), splitting the outfielders in left-center field for a pinch hit double. Following the hit, Lee started the last 50 games of the season as the designated player (29), catcher (14) or first baseman (7).
Lee, who was also named to the MAC All-Freshman Team, blasted her first of three career home runs in the top of the second inning versus No. 24 Texas (Feb. 19), which also marked her first career RBI. She reached base safely in a team-high 16 straight games starting with a first inning single at FGCU (March 4) and ending with a pair of singles and a walk in the first game of a doubleheader at Miami (March 26). Lee also led the Ball State offense with 13 multiple hit games, including three three-hit contests.
Lee played a direct role in six of Ball State's wins, scoring the game-winning run three times and driving in the winning RBI three times. Her first career game-winning RBI came on a double to left field versus Valparaiso (Feb. 28). Her second come on a RBI single versus UMass (March 18), while her third scored courtesy of another double, this time to right field, versus Central Michigan (April 23). She scored the winning runs at Houston (Feb. 20) and in the first games of doubleheaders versus Ohio (April 2) and Western Michigan (April 29).
A four-time Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week in 2016, Steinbach continued her climb up the Ball State record books over the course of the season. She became the fourth player in program history to reach 50 career wins when she guided Ball State to a 3-2 victory over UAB (Feb. 14) to close play in the Sand Dollar Classic. She finished the season with 16 wins to end her career ranked third on Ball State's win list at 64.
Steinbach's second major milestone came in the second game victory over Ohio (April 2), when she took over sole possession of the Ball State program record for career saves with her ninth. She struck out two of the three batters she faced in the outing to help the Cardinals secure the series sweep over the Bobcats.
Steinbach turned in another career highlight when she struck out the second batter in the series opener versus Western Michigan (April 29), becoming the fourth player in program history and the 29th in MAC annals to reach 500 career strikeouts. Steinbach finished the season with 144 strikeouts to end her career ranked fourth in program history with 514 strikeouts.
Steinbach made 39 appearances in the circle for Ball State in 2016, starting 31 games. She threw 22 complete games, including three complete game shutouts to finish her career ranked fourth in program history with 15 shutouts. Over 196.0 innings of work, she held opponents to a .264 average and allowed just 81 walks.
In all, 385 student-athletes from 157 different programs received 2016 NFCA All-Region accolades. The awards honor softball student-athletes from the Association's 10 regions with first, second and third teams selected for each region. 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 2015 NFCA Division I All-American teams.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, @CoachCBartlett & @BallStateSports / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSoftball.
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