May 14, 2009

SAN Marcos, Texas - Freshman pitcher Chandler Hall and senior shortstop Alex Newton were both named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-Region teams announced today by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). The team honors student-athletes from 10 NFCA regions. Hall and Newton make the eighth and ninth picks overall for the university. Ragan Blake was the last Bobcat to earn the honor in 2007.

Chandler Hall was named the 2009 Southland Conference Freshman and Pitcher of the Year. Hall carried her honors in the SLC Tournament as she led the Bobcats to the SLC Tournament title. Hall recorded a 3-0 record in the tourney to take home the Most Valuable Player accolade, along with being named to the all-tournament team.

Newton earned SLC Player of the Year honors after leading the Bobcats to a 36-16, 23-6 SLC regular season record. She earned her second all-conference nod of her career as she earned first-team honors and led the Bobcats to their second consecutive SLC title this season. The senior shortstop is the Bobcats lead-off hitter as she has started every game of her career.

Both players will play in their first NCAA Regional game this weekend when they head to Waco to take on Northwestern in their first game of the tourney. Newton enters the post season with a .330 batting average and a team leading 59 hits. Hall is hitting .304, with an ERA of 1.03 that ranks ninth in the nation. She leads a Bobcat pitching trio that ranks seventh nationally as a team.

A change this year is the announcement of just one team per region (First Team), although the team has the same number of members of the previous year's first and second teams combined. The change gives the regional representatives more leeway in presenting candidates for All-America selection.