Miller named second team All-Region

Posted: May 12, 2009

May 12, 2009

BLUFFTON, Ohio - Bluffton University senior LINDSEY MILLER (Wapakoneta) was one of just two Heartland Conference softball players to be named Second Team All-Region in the Central Region by the NFCA following her superb senior campaign in 2009. Marlene Russo of Franklin was also named to the second team, while Kendra DeArk (Transylvania) and Justine Johnston (Defiance) both collected third team honors.

Miller, who was the 2008 Most Valuable Player and the HCAC Female Athlete of the Month in both March and April this year, was named first team All-HCAC for the third consecutive season. After off-season knee surgery which moved the 2008 HCAC MVP from shortstop to second base for her final campaign, Lindsey Miller picked up right where she left off last year. The leading hitter in Bluffton softball history topped the conference with a .458 batting average, a 507 on-base percentage, 46 RBI and a school-record 60 hits. She blistered Heartland Conference pitching to the tune of a .562 batting average, .618 on-base percentage and 22 RBI which were all best in the HCAC.

Miller's .458 batting average and .687 slugging percentage place her third all-time in the single season record book behind Allison Lange's 2004 school records and behind her own numbers from a year ago. Her 60 hits broke Mollie Brown's school record of 57 safeties in 2008 when she (54 hits) and Brown both eclipsed Lange's 2004 standard of 48 hits. For the second consecutive year, Miller established a new mark for RBI with 46 after driving home 45 runs in 2008. She pounded out seven dingers this year after blasting a school-record 11 bombs as a junior.

The Second Team All Central Region slugger walked away from the Beavers as the most prolific hitter in Bluffton softball history despite dealing with injuries throughout most of her career. She finished her four years with a .401 batting average, 46 points higher than Lange's former record of .355 which is also Marbaugh's current average with one season to play.

Her career records also include: slugging percentage (.615), games played and started (143), at bats (426), hits (171), home runs (20), RBI (110) and total bases (262). She is also in the top 10 on Bluffton's career list in: on-base percentage (.450), runs (71), doubles (29) and walks (37). During her final two years at Bluffton, Miller was named HCAC Softball Hitter of the Week four times, Female Athlete of the Month three times in four months and recently she took home Bluffton's Senior Athlete of the Year award.

-BEAVERS-