Louisville, Ky. – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) honored a pair of Gustavus softball players when it announced its All-Region Teams last week. Junior shortstop Shelby Nosan (Baudette, Minn.) and sophomore third baseman Kaitlyn Bicek (Northfield, Minn.) each earned a spot on the Midwest All-Region Third Team as at-large selections following a season that saw the Gusties finish 24-15 overall and 17-5 in conference play to place second in the regular season league standings. Gustavus then lost in the consolation final of the MIAC Playoffs to Bethel.
Nosan and Bicek are two of 15 selections on the Midwest All-Region Team to come from the MIAC. Joining the pair of Gusties are six players from St. Thomas, four from Saint Benedict, two from Bethel, and one from Macalester.
A consistent catalyst for the Gustie offense throughout her junior campaign, shortstop Shelby Nosan makes her mark on the All-Region Team for the first time in her career. Nosan posted an impressive batting average of .460 (57-124) to rank second in the MIAC. Her 57 hits, as well as 41 runs scored ranked fourth among league hitters, while she also racked up 16 doubles (2nd/MIAC) and five home runs (13th/MIAC) with 27 runs batted in (9th/MIAC).
The captain was even better at getting on base, reaching safely over half the time with a .521 on base percentage (3rd/MIAC). She also tallied a .726 slugging percentage, which ranked sixth among conference sluggers.
Moving into a starting role at third base full time this season, Kaitlyn Bicek is also honored by the NFCA for the first time in her collegiate career. The Northfield native recorded a .339 batting average for the season, but hit an impressive .411 (14th/MIAC) in 22 games of conference play.
Similarly, she racked up a .541 slugging percentage (16th/MIAC) that increased to .696 (10th/MIAC) against league foes and posted an on base percentage of .390 that improved to .468 (15th/MIAC). Bicek also tallied 37 hits (19th/MIAC) on the year with eight doubles (19th/MIAC), a triple (6th/MIAC), four home runs (4th/MIAC), and 26 RBI (11th/MIAC).
Members of the NFCA All-Region Teams are nominated by NFCA-member coaches and voted on by members of the organization.