Illinois College announced on May 18 that three members of the Lady Blues softball team have been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region IX teams. Jordan Closs and Ezzy Mauermann were selected for the first team, while Cambria Currie earned second-team recognition.
The recognition highlights the achievements of student-athletes in NCAA Division III softball, as selections are made by head coaches who are NFCA members. The awards underscore individual and team accomplishments during a season in which Illinois College Lady Blues Softball competes in NCAA Division III and is a member of the Midwest Conference, according to the official website.
Closs, a senior pitcher from Niantic, Illinois, was also named Midwest Conference Pitcher of the Year and received first-team All-Conference honors for a second straight season. She set a school record with 15 victories this year, finishing with a 15-4 record and a 1.56 earned run average. Closs recorded 112 strikeouts over 139 innings pitched.
Mauermann, a sophomore centerfielder from Glendale, Wisconsin, led her team with a .398 batting average and eight home runs. She drove in 28 runs and stole 22 bases out of 24 attempts while being named to the first-team All-Midwest Conference.
Currie is a sophomore utility player from McLeansboro, Illinois. She made the second team after batting .357 with twelve runs batted in and seventeen stolen bases. Currie also contributed as a pitcher with ten wins against five losses and posted an earned run average of 2.27 along with sixty-one strikeouts over eighty-six-and-a-third innings pitched.
The Lady Blues concluded their season setting a school record with thirty-four wins while capturing both Midwest Conference Regular Season and Postseason Tournament titles. The program reached NCAA Regionals for only its third time ever—and won an NCAA Regional game for just its second time.
Illinois College Lady Blues Softball hosts games at Jessica Kamp Softball Field in Jacksonville, Illinois; this venue features improvements such as resurfaced infield designed to minimize weather-related issues for players and spectators alike—according to information provided by the official website.
