LOUISVILLE, Ky.-- Trine's Carly Searles and Kaylee Fox have been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III All-America team, which was announced Wednesday night.
Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) was named the first-team center fielder for the third-straight year. The honor caps off a career that saw Searles earn All-America honors from the NFCA three times. Fox (Vermilion, Ohio/Edison) was named to the third team at one of three at-large positions. Fox is one of seven freshman to appear on the All-America teams this year and is the first freshman to earn the honor in Trine history. This is the second time in team history the Thunder have produced two All-Americans in a season.
Searles became NCAA Division IIIs all-time career leader in hits (306), runs scored (261) and triples (48) this season. The senior led the nation in runs per game, scoring 1.70 per contest. Searles' .523 batting average and 10 triples were each second in the nation, while her .601 on-base percentage and .899 slugging percentage ranked third and seventh respectively.
The senior entered the NCAA record books this season with a 16-for-16 streak at the plate- the second-longest such streak in collegiate softball history. The streak earned her recognition as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III National Hitter of the Week.
Searles also won the MIAA Most Valuable Position Player award, winning the league's batting title and setting conference records for career hits, batting average and triples. Searles owns 19 combined single-season and career school records.
Fox stormed onto the national scene in her freshman campaign, ranking third in the nation with 16 home runs and 11th with 55 RBIs. The first baseman tied the MIAA record with nine of those home runs coming in conference play. Fox's home run total was tied for the second-most in a single season in team history, while her RBI-total ranked third.
The freshman was more than just a power-hitter, batting .405 and getting on-base at a .454 clip. She slugged .797. Fox already ranks ninth in team history in career home runs.
Fox was named to the Greencastle Regional All-Tournament team after batting .500 with two home runs in the regional. She was the first Trine freshman named to the All-MIAA First Team since 2010.
Both players became eligible for All-America honors after being named to the NFCA Division III All-Central Region First Team.
Trine concluded the season with a 39-5 overall record. The Thunder won its fourth-consecutive MIAA regular-season title, third-straight MIAA Tournament title and appeared in the NCAA Regionals for the eighth year in a row.