HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The awards continue to roll in for the Northern Kentucky University softball team, as Jessica Farris was selected to the Daktronics Division II All-Midwest Region first team, while Ashley Gates garnered second-team honors.
The All-Midwest team is voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Farris, a freshman from Independence, Ky., had a stellar season for the Norse as the team’s everyday shortstop. Farris hit .315 on the season with 13 doubles, four home runs and 28 RBIs. Farris also strung together an 11-game hitting streak late in the season to help the Norse qualify for their first Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament since 2006. Farris was honored on the All-GLVC second team and was named GLVC Freshman of the Year.
Gates, a freshman from South Bend, Ind., became the third player in three years to set a new single-season home-run mark at NKU, blasting 12 long balls during the 2009 season. Gates also drove in a team-best 42 RBIs thanks in part to a pair of grand slams on the season, the first coming in NKU’s final regular-season contest against Bellarmine while her second set the tone in NKU’s 10-2 run-rule victory over Lewis in the GLVC Tournament championship game.
NKU won its second GLVC championship in program history and qualified for the NCAA tournament for a fourth time. The Norse finished with a record of 32-23 overall.
