NIIC Announces Softball Postseason Awards

AURORA, Ill. May 12, 2005 - The Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference (NIIC) announced the 2005 softball postseason awards and the AU women’s softball team, conference champions and tournament champions, received the NIIC Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards.

The NIIC softball Player of the Year award went to senior first baseman/pitcher Taylor Petersen (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora HS) for the second consecutive season, while the NIIC softball Coach of the Year award went to AU Head Softball Coach Mike McKenzie.

Petersen led the Spartans to back to back NIIC championships, their first NCAA tournament appearance since the 1995 season, and she rewrote the Spartan record book. She has established new marks in career strikeouts (422), career shutouts pitched (26), season strikeouts (246), season wins, (25) season shutouts (15), all while leading the Spartans to a school record 38 wins and a 38-4-1 overall record. In her final season as a Spartan, Petersen has a 25-0 record with a 0.18 earned run average (leads Division III), one save, one perfect game, 21 complete games, 15 shutouts, and 246 strikeouts in 159-1/3 innings pitched. She allowed only 10 walks, and opponents hit .119 against her. At the plate, Petersen is hitting .406 with 12 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 22 runs batted in, and 39 runs scored. She has a .625 slugging percentage with a .438 on-base percentage. In conference action, Petersen was 11-0 with a 0.10 earned run average, seven shutouts, 10 complete games, one save, and 123 strikeouts in 70-1/3 innings pitched. At the plate, she hit .438 with six doubles, two home runs, 16 runs scored, and six runs batted in.

McKenzie led the Spartans to their second consecutive NIIC conference title and the first NCAA appearance in 10 years. In his two seasons at AU, McKenzie has compiled a 67-15-2 record, while going 27-4 in the NIIC.

AU’s women softball team is currently 38-4-1 on the season and 14-1 in the NIIC, while capturing their second consecutive Conference Championship and the tournament championships which carried the NIIC automatic bid into the 2005 NCAA Division III softball championships, AU’s first NCAA softball tournament appearance since 1995. The 38 wins is a school record, breaking the old mark of 32 set in 1995.

The AU softball team is in action in the NCAA tournament on Friday, May 13, 2005 in Alma Michigan. The Spartans are the No 1 seed in the five team regional and will take on the winner of the game between No 4 seed Edgewood College and No 5 seed Allegheny College. Game time for AU is set for 2:30 p.m. EST, in Alma, Michigan.

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