Four Earn girls got game/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete Accolades

The Heidelberg College softball team had four student-athletes recognized as girls got game / National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Scholar-Athletes for the 2007-08 academic year. Catcher Nikki Lagendyk (Powell, Ohio / Olentangy), outfielder Jennifer Kerman (Willowick, Ohio / Regina) and pitchers Katie Allenspach (Aurora, Ohio /Aurora) and Nicole Bachman (Elkhart, Ind. / Elkhart Memorial) all picked up recognition for the first time of their careers.
 
The girls got game / NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete honor is based on the cumulative grade point average of the student-athlete for the entire academic year. To earn recognition one must have maintained at least a 3.5 GPA during both semesters of the academic year.
 
Lagendyk recently completed her eligibility at Heidelberg and maintained at least a 3.5 GPA during her senior campaign, while completing her degree in biology. On the diamond, Lagendyk called the pitches from behind the plate for four years. In 2008, she compiled a .952 fielding percentage in 83 chances and had just four errors. She threw out six would-be base stealers.
 
Patrolling the outfield was Kerman, a health and physical education major, along with sports management. In the field she boasted a .972 fielding percentage, recording 34 putouts, one assist and just one error. At the plate, Kerman racked up 14 hits and five RBIs in her junior season.
 
Allenspach, a sports management major with a business focus, has been a mainstay on the mound over the course of the last three years. In 2008 she made 29 appearances and threw 149.2 innings. Allenspach closed out the season with a 4.40 earned run average, while striking out 69 batters. Her 69 strike outs ties for the single-season record.
 
Rounding out the list of honorees is Bachman. Bachman, an athletic training major, learned what it took to excel in the classroom quickly as she earned this academic postseason honor following her first season at the Berg. Bachman gave Heidelberg a one-two punch on the mound with Allenspach. She pitched 78.2 innings and struck out 61 batters, which ranks fourth in the single-season record book.
 

Nikki Lagendyk	Jennifer Kerman	Katie Allenspach	Nicole Bachman