Louisville – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) honored a trio of Gustavus Adolphus softball players with the announcement of 2015 NFCA Division III All-Region Softball Teams on Monday, May 11. As in the past, the squad is comprised of three teams in each of the country’s eight NCAA regions. Sophomore pitcher Hannah Heacox (Stillwater, Minn.) and senior second baseman Carly Klass (Sr., Richfield, Minn.) earned a place on the Midwest All-Region Second Team, and senior shortstop Shelby Nosan (Baudette, Minn.) was an at-large selection to the Midwest All-Region Third Team.
A total of 361 players were named the NFCA Division III All-Region Teams this season. Heacox, Klass, and Nosan were three of the 13 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference student-athletes selected to the Midwest All-Region Team. St. Thomas led the way with five selections, Gustavus followed with three, Bethel and Hamline each had two, and St. Catherine rounded out the group with one.
Solidifying herself as one of the top pitchers in the region, Hannah Heacox makes her first appearance on the All-Region Team. Over the course of 25 appearances, 19 starts, and 136.2 innings, Heacox compiled an overall record of 14-4 with an earned run average of 1.64. She recorded six complete game shutouts and finished the season with an opponent batting average of .203. Heacox also proved to be one of the top strikeout artists in the Midwest with a total of 176 Ks. The Stillwater native reached double-figure strikeouts in seven games and averaged more than nine per game.
Also earning a place on the All-Region team for the first time is Carly Klass. A four-year staple of Head Coach Jeff Annis’s infield, Klass concluded her Gustavus tenure with career-highs in hits (49), triples (4), and home runs (7), RBI (29), total bases (83), and slugging percentage (.527). She ended the season with a .343 average, registered 12 multiple-hit games, eight multiple-RBI games, and hit .350 with runners in scoring position. Over the course of her career, Klass played in a total of 160 games and hit over the .300 mark all four seasons to finish with a batting average of .335.
Shortstop Shelby Nosan is back on the All-Region Team as an at-large selection for the second straight season. Another of Annis’s core infielders, Nosan completed her collegiate career with a .353 batting average to go along with a .527 slugging percentage. She led the team in hits (53), multiple hit games (8), and multiple RBI games (8). During the course of the season, Nosan went on a team-best 20-game hitting-streak and during one stretch reached base in 31 consecutive games. Leading the team with 23 walks, Nosan’s ability to get on base led to a team-high on-base percentage of .455.
The Gustavus softball team went 34-16 overall and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history. The Gusties saw their season come in the NCAA Regionals where they went 1-2 and were knocked out by eventual region champion Central on Saturday, May 9.
All-Region players are nominated and selected by NFCA member coaches in each of the eight Division III regions. First team All-Region choices are eligible for selection to the NFCA All-America team, which will be announced the evening of May 21 online at NFCA.org and in person at the NCAA Division III Championship banquet in Salem, Va.