BOWLING GREEN, Ky.-- WKU softball's Larissa Franklin and Miranda Kramer were each named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Mideast Region First-Team on Thursday, as voted on by region coaches.
Both First-Team All-Conference USA honorees, it's the second time in the duo's careers to be named All-Region after earning the accolade last season at IPFW.
Over 370 players from 153 different programs have been chosen to the 2015 NFCA Division I All-Region squads, and all the honorees now become eligible for selection to one of three 2015 NFCA Division I All-American teams. The 2015 NFCA Division I All-America teams will be announced at approximately 4 p.m. CT on Wednesday, May 27, via NFCA.org.
Six C-USA players were named to the first-team list while three were named to second-team honors and two to the region's third team.
To see the full list of All-Region honorees, click here.
Franklin's bat and glove has been solid for WKU this season, as she holds a team-leading .423 batting average. With 66 hits, the outfielder has only six games this season without a hit while posting 20 multi-hit games, moving her into WKU's top five for a single season. Franklin's offensive skills have come into player at crucial moments, as she hit a RBI-triple at No. 14 Tennessee to drive in the game's first run before scoring in the next at-bat to lead WKU to a 2-0 win while notching a walk-off RBI in a win over Murray State. Earlier this season, Franklin posted a 15-game hit streak to tie the school record while she has a team-best 19 stolen bases.
Kramer has displayed one of the best seasons of any student-athlete in WKU history, garnering the C-USA Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year awards. The transfer senior earned three national awards, including two ESPNW Player of the Week honors, the only player in the history of the award to receive it twice. The West Burlington, Iowa, native was named a top-26 finalist for the USA Softball Player of the Year decoration and earned a league-record eight C-USA Pitcher of the Week awards. Statistically speaking, the southpaw is among the nation's elite. Kramer ranks first in strikeouts per seven innings (13.0), first in total strikeouts (410), first in hits allowed per seven innings (2.80), second in total shutouts (13) and second in ERA (.83).
In last week's C-USA Championship, Kramer garnered the Most Valuable Player award after notching all three wins with a championship-best 44 strikeouts. Kramer tied the league championship record with 16 strikeouts en route to the school's first-ever perfect game against Charlotte, as the Iowa product tabbed her fourth no-hit effort of the season. Kramer then tossed 16 strikeouts in a win over UAB while tabbing 13 in the final game against NCAA-bound Florida Atlantic. Overall, Kramer finished with a 0.67 ERA, five hits allowed, two earned runs and a .075 opponent batting average.
Franklin, Kramer and the Lady Toppers continue their season in NCAA Regional action this weekend. Friday's game against North Carolina begins at 1:30 p.m. CT and will be featured on ESPN3 as well as 102.7 FM/1450 AM in Bowling Green. Fans can also listen on WKUSports.com. Gametracker links can be found on WKUSports.com while in-game updates are on Twitter via @WKUSoftball.
