Four Titans Earn all-Region Honors

May 6, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Illinois Wesleyan junior Monica Urban and sophomore Christy Engel were chosen to the first team of the all-Great Lakes region as the 2008 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III all-region softball squads were announced Tues., May 6 by the NFCA.
Sophomore Allison Ward and senior Ashley Deck were named to the second and third teams, respectively.

Urban, an outfielder from Wheaton, Ill. (North HS), leads the team heading into regional play with a .478 batting average, which would be a school single season record topping the old mark of .475 set by Brynn Hasse in 2004. A third team all-region choice in 2007, Urban also has 19 stolen bases this year and 65 (of 70) in her career.

Engel (St. Charles, Ill. North HS), who was named the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin "Pitcher of the Year", is 17-4 with a 1.42 earned run average and has 132 strikeouts in 148 innings. Her 17 wins is tied for fourth most in an IWU season. After two seasons she ranks 11th at IWU with 25 wins and fourth with 211 career strikeouts.

Ward, a shortstop from Bloomington, Ill. (Normal Community HS), was named the CCIW "Player of the Year." Overall she batted .365 with nine doubles, four home runs and was second on the team with 28 runs batted in.

Deck, a second baseman from Bolingbrook (HS), was a first team al-region choice in 2007 and 2006. This spring she is hitting .388, second on the team, with nine doubles, a team-high four triples and two home runs with 27 RBI. She is IWU's all-time leader in hits (201), doubles (41), and total bases (292).

Illinois Wesleyan is 29-9 and plays Simpson at 2 p.m. on Thurs., May 8 in the first round of the NCAA Division III regional tournament in Eau Claire, Wis. The Titans were 12-2 and won the regular season College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship.

CONTACT: Stew Salowitz, 309-556-3206