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Bloomsburg Players Named All-American; All-Region

SALEM, VA--Four Bloomsburg University softball players capped off tremendous seasons by earning All-American status from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Named first team All-American were Erica Miller (Williamsport/Williamsport) and Vanessa Sterner (Bloomsburg/Bloomsburg). Named second team All-Americans were Lisa Mull (Port Carbon/Pottsville) and Amber Cowher (Williamsport/Williamsport). All four players were first team Mid-Atlantic All-Region selections which made them eligible for All-American honors. The awards were handed out at the NCAA Tournament banquet at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, VA.

In addition, outfielder Jessica Shnyder (Milton/Milton) earned first team Mid-Atlantic All-Region honors for the Huskies, while Kerri Cooper (Markham, ONT/Makrham District) was named second team All-Region.

Miller, who has spent the past year rewriting the school and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) record book, is a first team selection for the second straight year. Miller owns school and conference career records for hits (307), homers (54), RBI (202), doubles (70), total bases (561) and extra-bases hits (135). For the year, Miller is hitting .486 with 15 homers and 50 RBI. She has also scored 55 runs and banged out 20 doubles. Earlier this year Miller had a 29-game hitting streak, fifth longest in Division II history. As a junior, Miller once had hits in 14 consecutive at-bats, three shy of the Division II record.

Miller was named PSAC Eastern Division Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive season as well as the Bloomsburg University Female Athlete of the Year and softball MVP.

Capping off the night for Miller was the announcement she has been named the Division II softball nominee for the Honda Woman Athlete of the Year Award. That award will be announced next month.

Sterner has joined Miller this season on the leftside of the diamond as the HuskiesÕ third baseman after playing her first three years in leftfield. A second team All-American last season, Sterner is batting .375 with 15 homers and 40 RBI this year. Sterner also has 55 runs scored, while banging out 11 doubles. At the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional tournament last weekend, Sterner hit a home run on the first pitcher of the game to get the Huskies going. She closed out the gameÕs scoring with a solo home run in the sixth inning.

A year Sterner set both Bloomsburg and PSAC single season records for home runs (18) and runs batted in (68). For her career, Sterner is second all-time in both Bloomsburg and PSAC history in homers with 44 while knocking in 151 runs.

Left fielder Lisa Mull has also had a tremendous season for the Huskies posting a .397 batting average with four homers and 29 RBI. Mull was named the National Player of the Week back in April when she hit .700 in six games. She also had a 20-game hitting streak earlier in the year. Mull was also a first team All-PSAC selection this year.

Cowher, a first-team All-PSAC selection this year, is 22-3 on the season with a 1.28 ERA. Cowher leads the team with a127 strikeouts while issuing just 24 walks. Cowher leads the team with 163.2 innings pitched. She struck out a career-high 13 in a win over Indiana (PA) at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional championship. In the regional finals Cowher, who was named the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional All-Tournament team, threw a two-hit shutout against IUP, while striking out six. Earlier in the season Cowher pitched a five inning no-hitter against East Stroudsburg.

Freshman sensation Jess Shnyder earned a spot on the all-region team by hitting .369 with six homers and 40 RBI. Shnyder is second on the team in hits with 62 and has 10 doubles and four triples to go with her six round-trippers. Shnyder was a first team All-PSAC selection this year for the Huskies.

Junior Kerri Cooper, the MVP of the PSAC championships, is 20-2 on the year with a 1.81 ERA. She has 75 strikeouts and 39 walks in 147 innings of work. Cooper is tied for the team lead in shutouts with seven. Cooper was also a second team All-PSAC selection this season.

Bloomsburg, 42-5 on the year, has won 21 straight games and will face Humboldt State in round one of the NCAA championship tournament in Salem, VA Thursday at noon.