MARSHALL, MINN.: Southwest Minnesota State softball players
Erin Dickhausen and
Amanda Johnson were both named Louisville Slugger/NFCA first team all-region on Thursday afternoon. The announcement came from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
For Dickhausen, it is the third time in her career that she has earned NFCA first team all-region honors, while Johnson was named to the second team in each of her first two seasons.
Dickhausen, a senior catcher from Watertown, Minn., is second for the Mustangs with a .348 batting average and leads the team with 57 hits, 38 runs scored, 14 stolen bases and five triples. She also has 23 runs batted in, 10 doubles and two home runs. Last week, she was named first team All-NSIC and NSIC Player of the Year. She also earned NSIC Player of the Week honors on Mar. 31. She currently holds career records at SMSU for runs scored (154), hits (220), triples (22), home runs (26), runs batted in (126), total bases (371) and stolen bases (72). Dickhausen is also second in slugging percentage (.597) and fifth in batting average (.354).
Johnson, a junior pitcher from Fremont, Neb., leads the Mustangs with a 1.11 ERA in 220 innings with 259 strikeouts. She has 23 complete games and nine shutouts, while posting a 27-4 record with five saves. Opponents have just 164 hits against her (.201 opponents’ batting average) and she has walked just 23 batters. Last week, she was named first team All-NSIC and NSIC Pitcher of the Year. She has been named NSIC Pitcher of the Week twice this spring. She already holds career school records for strikeouts (834), strikeouts per seven innings (8.69), fewest walks per seven innings (1.18), wins (77), saves (13), shutouts (25), complete games (75), innings pitched (671.2), appearances (119), games started (86) and is second in ERA (1.34).
Southwest is currently ranked No. 12 in NCAA II will play at 12:30 p.m. today (May 8) against Northwest Missouri State in the NCAA North Central Regional Tournament in Emporia, Kan. The Mustangs earned the second seed in the region after going 38-10 in the regular season and capturing the regular season NSIC title with a 17-1 record in the conference. The regional tournament appearance is SMSU’s third consecutive and third in school history.