2007 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II All-America Teams
AKRON, Ohio -- Top-ranked Columbus State, Angelo State and Florida Southern each had two players named first team all-American as the 2007 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II All-America Teams were named Wednesday night in Akron, Ohio.
The Cougars placed battery-mates Amber Browning and Amber Lanier on the first team. Browning, a 2005 second team all-American at West Florida, paced CSU in every pitching category on the season as she earned Peach Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year accolades. She put together a 23-0 mark during the regular season, compiling a 0.52 ERA after allowing 16 runs, 12 earned, with 229 strikeouts on the season.
Lanier, who also garnered Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year laurels, led Columbus State during the season with 63 hits, 10 home runs, 52 RBIs and a .692 slugging percentage. A .404 hitter, she ranked fifth in the PBC in slugging percentage, doubles and home runs, and she was fourth in the league in RBIs and chances. Lanier also fielded at a .990 clip, including three pick-offs.
Fourth-ranked Angelo State earned first team accolades in the outfield with Kandace Kubat and Kaycee Taylor at designated player.
Teams had trouble stopping Kubat on the bases this year. The 2006 adidas Golden Shoe Award winner swiped 43 of her 50 steal attempts while hitting .389 with eight doubles, two triples, a pair of home runs, 21 RBIs and 60 runs scored. A second team selection a year ago, Kubat reached base at a .455 clip and committed just three errors in the field.
Taylor played 35 games at the designated player spot, collecting a .428 average with 14 doubles, a triple and 10 home runs. She accounted for 89 of the team’s runs, driving in 48 while scoring 41 times.
Three-time all-American Megan Brown earned first-team accolades at pitcher along with outfielder Sarah Kohlbrenner.
Brown collected a 28-8 record this season, a mark that included five no-hitters. She allowed three hits or less in 20 of her 33 starts, and she allowed 27 earned runs for a 0.79 ERA. Brown struck out 250 hitters and hurled 11 shutouts as she tossed 29 complete games over 238 and one-third innings.
Kohlbrenner earned first team accolades after playing 58 games and not committing an error in the outfield. Offensively, she hit .380 with multiple hits in 23 games. She connected on 14 doubles, four triples and two home runs this season, and drove in 44 runs while scoring 40 times. Reaching base at a .435 clip, Kohlbrenner stole 17 bases in 24 attempts.
Kristin Erb earned her second first team selection in as many years after a stellar sophomore campaign in which she compiled a 28-1 mark with a 0.25 ERA. Erb struck out 201 during the regular season and walked just nine. Allowing just 79 hits on the season, Erb was touched for just nine runs while going the full seven innings in 18 games. Offensively, Erb hit .348 on the year, collecting 10 doubles and five home runs while driving in 34 runs and scoring 23 times.
San Francisco State’s Vanessa Rodrigue, a 2006 second team selection, garnered first team accolades at second base following a career year at the plate where she broke almost every offensive category at the school after hitting .362 with 10 doubles, eight home runs, 30 RBIs and 42 runs scored. She also stole 11 bases while committing only five errors.
A third team selection last season, Lizzy Prescott from Humboldt State moved to the first team in the at-large spot. Prescott put together a 29-3 season with a 0.84 ERA. Having hurled complete games in 25 of her 29 starts, she shut-out opponents 16 times. Prescott hurled her first collegiate perfect game this season, and she added two additional no-hitters. On the year, Prescott allowed 25 earned runs while striking out 236 in 208 and two-thirds innings of work.
