Softball lands four Griffins on NFCA All-Midwest Region Team

Softball lands four Griffins on NFCA All-Midwest Region Team
May 11, 2015

St. Louis, Mo. - The Fontbonne University softball team has landed four Griffins on the 2015 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Midwest Region Team, as announced by the Association today. 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.

Junior pitcher Madi Leonard and Senior corners Cassi Glixman and Danni Glixman led the charge, achieving first-team accolades with Danni earning the at-large bid. Junior catcher Emily Smith garnished third-team at-large honors. Both Glixmans are four-time All-Region honorees. This is the first all-region bid for both Leonard and Smith.

Leonard, whose been nationally ranked all season in wins and strikeouts, finished her third collegiate season 24-6 with 226 strikouts and a 1.33 earned-run average. The righty pitched 174 innings this season, pitching 12 complete games. She earned first-team all-SLIAC honors for the third time and was the 2015 SLIAC Pitcher of the Year and 2015 SLIAC Tournament MVP.

Cassi led the Griffins this season with 54 RBI's and a .785 slugging percentage. The senior first baseman recorded 59 hits, one short of her 2014 school-record 60 hits, 42 runs, 18 doubles, one triple, and nine home runs. Cassi stole seven bases on nine attempts, had a .985 fielding percentage, .477 on-base percentage and .437 batting average. She was named the SLIAC Player of the Year for the second year in a row. This is her fourth all-region team selection and second first-team selection.

Danni, earning the first-team at-large bid, led Fontbonne with a .455 batting average and 60 hits on the season. She recorded 37 runs, 17 doubles, five triples, four home runs and stole 10 of 15 attempts. In the third slot of the lineup, the third baseman recorded 37 RBI's with a .493 on-base percentage and .750 slugging percentage. Danni is also a 4x all-region player and this is her third first-team selection. She was the only Griffin named to the 2015 Pella Regional All-Tournament Team.

Smith, who recorded a 1.000 fielding percentage this season, caught 13 runners trying to steal while allowing zero passed balls and no throwing errors. The junior had a career-high season with a .342 batting average, .416 on-base percentage and .517 slugging percentage. She assisted 29 times on the season with 287 putouts. The second-team All-SLIAC catcher earns all-region honors for the first time in her career.

Fontbonne ended their season 30-11 after advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth consecutive year and ninth time overall. The Griffins also won their fifth consecutive SLIAC Tournament this season.