Three Softball Players Garner NFCA Honors
Louisville, Kentucky- The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) recognized three Brenau softball players as All-Region players for their performances during the 2019 season.
Faith Grooms led the honorees with 2019 NFCA All-Region first-team honors, while Maygan Loparo and Jessica Rathje both earned Second-Team All-Region accolades.
Grooms, a sophomore outfielder, was the AAC Tournament Most Valuable player and a first-team AAC honoree. The Commerce, Ga. native stole 43 bases to lead the AAC and was sixth in the nation in runs scored (68).
Loparo, a freshman catcher, was the AAC Co-Freshman of the year in her inaugural season as a Golden Tiger. The Sugar Hill, Ga. native hit a blistering .434 and hit safely in 31 of 37 regular season contests. She also led her squad in hits (63), RBIs, (37) and total bases (80).
Rathje, a senior pitcher, was also a first team AAC All-Conference team member. The Glencoe, Ala. native threw 192 innings, earning 22 wins and posting a 1.68 earned run average. She ranked 18th national in wins (22) and struck out 209 batters.
Established in 1983, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) is the professional growth organization for fastpitch softball coaches from all competitive levels of play. For more information about the NFCA, or a list of honorees click here.