Following its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship, the St. John Fisher College softball team has landed three players on the 2009 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III Northeast All-Region Team.
Seniors Amanda Shevchuk and Kristi Bradley were each named to the Second Team, while Samantha Vara made the Third Team.
Shevchuk was the Empire 8 Conference Pitcher of the Year and led the Cardinals to their second consecutive conference crown. With an 18-8 overall record on the season, she posted a 2.64 earned run average while striking out 130 batters in 185.2 innings of work. The senior finished her career ranked second in school history in career wins (49) and strikeouts (355).
A First Team All-Conference Selection, Bradley led the Cardinals with a .390 batting average (48-for-123), while leading the team in RBI (27) and home runs (three) in her final season. Defensively, she committed just three errors in 40 games at third base and finished the year with a .977 fielding percentage.
Vara was named to the NCAA All-Regional Regional Team following her performance in the seven-team tournament hosted by Ithaca College, and was also given Honorable Mention on the Empire 8’s All-Conference squad. The junior outfielder batted .356 and tied for the team lead with 48 hits (48-for-135) including 12 doubles, while scoring a team-high 36 runs and picking up 22 RBI.
Fisher finished the 2009 campaign with a 32-12 overall record, marking the sixth year that Fisher has won 30 or more games under 15-year head coach Len Maiorani. The Cardinals won their second consecutive Empire 8 Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship in back-to-back years for the first time in program history.