Six Thomas More Softball Athletes Named All-Region

Thomas More College had six softball student-athletes named to the 2017 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Central Region teams.

Junior second baseman Sammy Sagers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills), junior outfielder Laura Finke (Fort Wright, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) and junior pitcher/shortstop Alix DeDreu (Rising Sun, Ind./Rising Sun) were named to the first team.  Sagers played in all 45 games for the Saints as she batted .385.  She was 52-of-135 with four home runs, 11 doubles, 52 runs scored and 28 runs batted-in with a .556 slugging percentage and a .432 on-base percentage.  Finke started all 45 games for Thomas More and was 64-of-159 at the plate for a .403 batting average.  She had six doubles, three triples, 43 runs scored and 14 RBI, while she was 31-of-35 in stolen base attempts.  DeDreu was selected at the utility position because of her performance in the pitching circle and at shortstop.  She batted .408 at the plate with nine doubles, two triples, 42 runs scored and 33 RBI.  In the circle, DeDreu had a 1.27 earned run average (ERA) with a 19-4 record and one save, while striking out 117 batters in 149.0 innings pitched.

Named to the second team was first-year first baseman Andrea Gahan (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) and sophomore outfielder Mary Beth Odom (Taylor Mill, Ky./Dixie Heights).  Gahan led the team at the plate with a .436 average as she was 58-of-133 with eight home runs, one triple, 16 doubles, 38 runs scored and 36 RBI.  She had a .752 slugging percentage and a .455 on-base percent, while recording 292 putouts.  Odom batted .345 as she was 38-of-110 with nine home runs, seven doubles, 23 runs scored and 39 RBI.  She had a .655 slugging percentage and was nine-for-nine in stolen base attempts.

First-year catcher Kenzi Dickerson (Union, Ky./Ryle) was a third team selection by the coaches’ association.  She batted .368 as she was 50-of-136 at the plate.  Dickerson had five home runs, 13 doubles, 18 run scored and 33 RBI, while she had a .574 slugging percentage and a .404 on-base percentage.

All-Central student-athletes are nominated and selected by NFCA member coaches in the Central Region.  First Team All-Central region selections are eligible for selection to the NFCA All-American team, which will be announced the evening of May 24 at the NCAA Division III Championship banquet in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Thomas More finished the season at 35-10 overall and recorded an undefeated 18-0 record in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) regular season.  The Saints won the PAC regular season and championship tournament titles and made their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth under ninth-year head coach Lindsay Eagan.