2012 All-RMAC softball teams
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Fort Lewis College softball players
Stephanie Janes and
Destinee DeHerrera were named to the All-
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference first team, RMAC Assistant Commissioner Eric Danner announced today.
Chelsea Rodriguez received a second team nod.
Janes, a 5-foot-4 senior first baseman from Xavier College Prep in Phoenix, earned all-conference honors for the first time in her career. She was named the RMAC's Academic Player of the Year last week and has earned RMAC All-Academic honors three times, having been named to the first team in 2012 and the Honor Roll in 2010 and 2011. Earlier this month, she was chosen as one of the three recipients of the Dr. Troy Bledsoe Award as the top female senior student-athlete at Fort Lewis. She is also a two-time recipient of the D2 Athletic Directors Association/WeatherPORT Academic Achievement Award and joined the prestigious Phi Kappa Phi honor society this spring.
“Stephanie has hit the ball extremely well all year with tons of power,” said second-year FLC head coach
Kira Zeiter. “She always works so hard and has a smile on her face. I am so pleased that she has been given the recognition that she deserves, and really leaving the RMAC at the top of her game.”
Primarily a pitcher earlier in her career, Janes became FLC's regular starting first baseman in 2012 and has enjoyed her finest year ever at the plate. She's currently batting .437 with 55 hits, 10 homers, 41 runs batted in, and seven doubles.
She is FLC's career leader in saves (four) and ranks among career leaders in pitching appearances (third, 76), strikeouts (fourth, 244), victories (sixth, 16), innings pitched (seventh, 310.1), games started at pitcher (seventh, 44), put-outs (ninth, 275), home runs (12th, 12), and RBI (12th, 62). As a freshman, she tossed fifth no-hitter in FLC history in game one against New Mexico Highlands on April 26, 2009. She also shares school single-game records for most home runs (2, twice) and most times hit by pitch (2, vs. Colorado Mines, game one, April 9, 2011).
DeHerrera, a 5-foot-3 sophomore outfielder from Sunrise Mountain High School in Peoria, Ariz., was honored for the first time in her career. She's batting .366 with 52 hits, 13 doubles, six homers and 28 RBI in 2012.
“Destinee has been a catalyst for our team all year, and has been a tough out in the lead-off position,” said Zeiter. “When she gets on a role at the plate she is unstoppable. She is the one always taking the extra swings on her own, and I'm pleased to see her hard work pay off.”
DeHerrera ranks among FLC career leaders in doubles (seventh, 23), home runs (15th, 10), RBI (20th, 49), and runs (20th, 59).
Rodriguez, a 5-foot-6 sophomore third baseman from Highland High School in Mesa, Ariz., earned All-RMAC honors for the second time after being named to the third team as a freshman in 2011. Last week, she earned academic honors for the first time in her career when she was named to the RMAC All-Academic first team. She was also named the RMAC Player of the Week on February 14, 2012.
“Chelsea has been one of the top offensive threats in the RMAC this year,” said Zeiter. “With her power and patience at the plate she has been one of the toughest outs all season long. The sky is the limit for her, and I look forward to what the next two years will bring.”
Rodriguez is enjoying an All-America-caliber season in 2012, leading the Skyhawks in batting (.478), runs (55), hits (66), doubles (15), home runs (14), RBI 948), walks (40), slugging percentage (.891), on-base percentage (.601), and total bases (123).
She leads all of NCAA Division II in on-base percentage and ranks among national Top 25 in walks (second), batting average (fifth), slugging percentage (eighth), runs per game (13th), and home runs per game (25th).
Rodriguez owns numerous FLC single-game records, including hits (5, twice), singles (5, at New Mexico Highlands, game 2, April 14, 2012), total bases (11, at Chadron State, game 1, March 18, 2012), home runs (tied with several other players, 2, at Chadron State, game 1, March 18, 2012), and walks (4, vs. New Mexico Highlands, March 19, 2011). She has already set new FLC single-season standards for runs (55) and walks (40) in 2012, and will likely own numerous other single-season records by season's end.
Rodriguez ranks among FLC leaders in walks (third, 55), home runs (fourth, 20), runs (fifth, 78), assists (eighth, 189), RBI (ninth, 67), total bases (tenth, 180), doubles (13th, 20), and hits (19th, 98).
Janes, DeHerrera, and Rodriguez were the first Skyhawks to receive All-RMAC first or second team honors since 2008.
Fort Lewis (26-23, 24-16) finished in a third place tie in the RMAC regular season and earned the No. 3 seed in this week's RMAC softball championships, to be hosted by Colorado Mines in Golden and Denver from Thursday through Saturday, April 26-28.
The Skyhawks will face No. 6 Metro State (25-25, 22-16) at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Regis Softball Field in the first round of the double-elimination tournament. The tournament winner will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II softball championships.
