2012 Daktronics All-Central Region teams

GOLDEN, Colo. — Fort Lewis College softball players Stephanie Janes and Chelsea Rodriguez were named to the Daktronics All-Central Region second team, regional coordinator Katie Simmons announced yesterday.

Janes and Rodriguez become just the second and third players in school history to earn all-region recognition. Jenna Peters previously earned second team Daktronics All-South Central Region accolades in 2008.

Janes, a 5-foot-4 senior first baseman from Xavier College Prep in Phoenix, has had numerous awards lauded upon her in 2012 — a season that saw her put up career numbers. She previously was named to the Capital One Academic All-District 7 ® first team for NCAA Division II (the first FLC player to ever receive that honor; was chosen as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Academic Player of the Year (also marking the first time in FLC history that a softball player achieved that feat); received the Dr. Troy Bledsoe Award as the top female senior scholar-athlete at Fort Lewis; and was a first team All-RMAC and RMAC All-Academic selection.

“Stephanie had a great year all-around,” said second-year FLC head coach Kira Zeiter. “She swung the bat extremely well, worked hard, and was a huge asset to the team as a player and leader. I am so pleased how she stepped up this year as a senior and left it all on the field.”

Janes, who graduated summa cum laude from Fort Lewis on April 28 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration-Finance, maintained a 3.84 grade point average during her four years in Durango. She was a three-time RMAC All-Academic performer, a two-time D2 Athletic Directors Association/WeatherPORT Academic Award recipient, and a 2011 NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete.

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 batted .406 (fifth best in school history) with 58 hits, 43 runs batted in, 10 home runs, and a .664 slugging percentage (eighth highest in the FLC record book).

She finished her career as FLC's all-time 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), putouts (eighth, 311), batting average (10th, .347), RBI (11th, 64), home runs (12th, 12), slugging percentage (12th, .530), fielding percentage (16th, .966), and earned run average (19th, 5.44). 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).

Rodriguez, a 5-foot-6 sophomore third baseman from Highland High School in Mesa, Ariz., rewrote the FLC record books in 2012. She set single-season records for batting average (.474), hits (73), runs (58), and walks (47). She also 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).

“Chelsea could always give the team a boost in a big way this year when we needed it,” said Zeiter. “Whether it was getting a big hit or making a nice play at third base, she has been a solid player for the last two years. We can expect more great things to come from her.”

Rodriguez was named the Most Valuable Player of the RMAC tournament and added RMAC All-Tournament Team, All-RMAC second team, RMAC All-Academic first team, and RMAC Player of the Week (Feb. 14, 2012) honors in 2012. She was a third team All-RMAC pick as a true freshman a year ago.

She leads all of NCAA Division II in on-base percentage (.610) and walks (0.89 per game) and ranks among national Top 25 in batting average (sixth), slugging percentage (ninth), and runs per game (18th).

Through her first two seasons, Rodriguez is FLC's career leader in batting (.417) and ranks among career leaders in slugging percentage (second, .754), walks (third, 62), home runs (fourth, 21), runs (fifth, 81), RBI (seventh, 70), assists (eighth, 200), total bases (ninth, 190), doubles (13th, 20), and hits (16th, 105).

A total of 26 student-athletes from 14 different institutions comprise the Daktronics All-Central Region first and second teams. Adams State, Augustana (S.D.), and Minnesota State each had two selections on the first team, while Minnesota-Duluth, Concordia-St. Paul, and Colorado Mesa had one player each named to the first team. First team selections move on to the national ballot for Daktronics All-America consideration.

The Daktronics teams are chosen by sports information directors at softball-playing institutions in the Central Region, which is comprised of the RMAC and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing, and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition.

Fort Lewis finished the 2012 season with a 30-26 overall record, setting a new school standard for victories. The Skyhawks won the RMAC tournament and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs, each for the second time in school history. FLC went 24-16 in RMAC games, tying for third place in the regular season standings.

The Skyhawks lose just three seniors — Stephanie and Natalie Janes and Jordan Willis — to graduation and are expected to return 15 players in 2013.