Six 'Cats Land on All-West Region Squad

Linfield (40-6) plays Emory (32-6) Friday in the eight-team double-elimination NCAA Division III national championship tournament in Salem, Va.

Stephanie Rice, a repeat first team all-West Region selection, hit .408, stole a team and conference best 38 bases.

McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Six Linfield softball players – including three infielders - have been named to the all-West Region team as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

Linfield placed four Wildcats on the first team: Catcher Jena Loop (Sr., The Dalles, Ore.), second baseman Jenny Marshall (Jr., Sherwood, Ore.), shortstop Meredith Brunette (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.) and outfielder Stephanie Rice (Jr., Milwaukie, Ore.).

Voted to the West Region second team from Linfield were slugger Erica Hancock (Jr., Boardman, Ore.) and pitching ace Brittany Miller (Soph., Port Orchard, Wash.).

Loop is enjoying her finest season as a Wildcat, hitting a career-best .429 while earning first team all-Northwest Conference honors.

She plated nine home runs while adding 10 doubles, 49 runs and 43 RBIs. She also stole 14 bases and posted a .989 fielding percentage.

Marshall is the team’s co-leader in batting average, hitting .450 with 48 runs, 13 doubles and two triples.

She drove in 43 runs, stole 17 bases and posted a .986 fielding percentage. Marshall was named Northwest Conference Player of the Year.

Rice, a repeat first team all-West Region selection, hit .408, stole a team and conference best 38 bases.

She was named a first team NWC all-star for the third time of her career, scoring a team-high 56 runs and driving home 18 runs as the Wildcats’ leadoff hitter.

Brunette tied a school record with 17 doubles and recently set the single-season RBIs record of 55. She hit .413 with 38 runs scored, two triples and six home runs.

Miller, the NWC Pitcher of the Year and an all-West Region tournament selection, equaled a school record with her 20th win of the season. She posted a 1.60 earned run average, pitching 17 complete games, including five shutouts.

She struck out 128 batters – second-most all-time - and held opposing batters to a .195 batting average. Miller earned second team all-West Region honors as a freshman in 2006.

Hancock, another first team all-NWC pick, set a Linfield single-season record with an NWC-best 13 home runs. She hit .450 with nine doubles, two triples and 39 RBIs. Hancock also stole 10 bases.

Marshall, Hancock, Brunette and Miller were also each named to the West Region tournament all-star team after Linfield won four straight loser-out games to capture the title.

Together, the Wildcats have helped Linfield set a school record for most victories with 40, capturing the Northwest Conference and West Region championships, as well as a coveted berth in the NCAA Division III Finals.

Linfield (40-6) plays Emory (32-6) Friday in the eight-team double-elimination NCAA Division III national championship tournament in Salem, Va.

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