LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Headlined by a trio of First Team honorees, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) had 10 student-athletes named to the 2023 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III All-Region X (West) team it was announced on Friday.
Texas Lutheran led all SCAC programs with five selections, followed by St. Thomas with four and Schreiner with one honoree. The 10 SCAC selections are the most since the league earned 10 back in 2010.
Representing the SCAC on the First Team was Texas Lutheran’s Ashlyn Strother and Serena Gonzalez along with Schriner’s Danielle Pedraza.
Strother, a senior pitcher from Seabrook Texas, was named SCAC Pitcher of the Year for the third consecutive season earlier this month and is making her third consecutive appearance on the All-Region First Team. Strother closed the season with a league best 0.82 ERA, 122 strikeouts, 19 wins and eight shutouts. Historically, Strother is first all-time in SCAC history with a career 0.95 ERA, third with 65 wins and tied for fourth with 468 strikeouts.
The SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year, Gonzalez burst onto the scene in her rookie campaign in Seguin. She broke the program's freshman home run record with 10 home runs and established the program's RBI record with 57 RBI on the season. Both Strother and Gonzalez helped lead TLU to it’s ninth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Pedraza, a senior outfielder from San Antonio, Texas is a two-time First Team All-SCAC honoree and making her debut on the NFCA First Team All-Region team. This year Pedraza set career highs in hits (52), runs scored (34), doubles (18), home runs (7), RBI (49), batting average (.426), on-base percentage (.462) and slugging percentage (.575).
In addition, four SCAC players were named Second Team All-Region including Texas Lutheran’s first-year second baseman Caelee Clark and sophomore shortstop Linzee Leal and St. Thomas’ senior pitcher Bailey Tisdale and sophomore outfielder Rebecca Archibald. All four earned First Team All-SCAC accolades and helped the SCAC send two teams into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010 after St. Thomas captured the conference tournament title for the first time in school history earlier this month.
Rounding out the SCAC All-Region honorees were St. Thomas’ teammates Adelyn Becerra and Chloe Bennett along with Texas Lutheran’s Madison Johnson who were all named to the Third Team. Becerra and Bennett both earned First Team All-SCAC, while Johnson was named Second Team All-SCAC.
The awards honor student-athletes from the Association's 10 regions with selection to one of three teams. NFCA member head coaches nominate and then vote for the winners in their respective region. All honorees move forward to be considered for selection for the three NFCA Division III All-America squads, which will be announced May 31 online and on-site at the NCAA Division III Finals banquet in Marshall, Texas.
For clarification, position players must play 50% of a team's total games (60% of nominee's total games at the nominated position). Pitchers must accumulate 100 innings pitched or 30% of a team's total innings pitched throughout the regular season.
To view the entire NFCA All-Region Teams, click here.
