Four Polar Bears named All-Central Region by NFCA in Softball for 2011
By: Tim Glon
ADA — Four Ohio Northern players were named All-Central Region in softball for 2011 in voting conducted by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Juniors Kimi Blewett and Jackie Mangola were First Team All-Region honorees, sophomore Ashley Sujkowski was a Second Team pick and freshman Christin Miller was named Third Team All-Region.
As First Team members, Blewett and Mangola are now under consideration for All-America honors.
Blewett is a now three-time All-Region honoree, earning First Team honors in 2010 and Second Team honors in 2009 as a catcher.
She is also a three-time First Team All-OAC honoree and was named Second Team All-America in 2010.
This season, she is batting .407 with 11 home runs, 58 RBI, a team-best 12 doubles and a .741slugging percentage while starting all 39 games.
In her three seasons as a Polar Bear, Blewett ranks second in RBI (158) and doubles (44), is third in home runs (27) and is fifth in base hits (174).
Mangola is a repeat First Team award winner at second base, as she received the honor as a sophomore in 2010.
She is now a three-time First Team All-OAC award winner and is the first Polar Bear to be named OAC Player of the Year twice in her career.
Mangola was a First-Team All-American in 2010.
Mangola has ONU single-season records with 19 home runs and 34 walks and also leads Ohio Northern in batting average (.482), RBI (58), total bases (121), slugging percentage (1.100) and on-base percentage (.616).
She is also second on the squad with 47 runs scored and has started all 142 games in her career at second base.
Mangola is ONU's all-time career home runs leader with 39 and ranks third in RBI (152), is fourth in base hits (176) and is fifth in doubles (37).
Miller was also a First Team All-Conference pick in her outstanding freshman season.
Miller is hitting .448 from the lead-off position with team-highs of 54 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. She has started 37 games in center field.
Sujkowski is making her first appearance on the All-Region squad in her first year as an ONU starter.
She was also named Honorable Mention All-OAC this spring.
She is hitting .437 with five home runs and 41 RBI and has started all 38 games at shortstop.
Sujkowski leads the team with four triples and ranks second on the team with 59 base hits and 10 doubles.
The Polar Bears won the OAC Regular Season title for the third consecutive year and for the fourth time in the past five seasons and earned a bid to participate in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season under first-year head coach Kim Burke.
Northern (27-12) won its first round game in the NCAA Tournament, beating No. 24-ranked Trine (Ind.), and now faces No. 16 DePauw (Ind.) in the Second Round on Friday.