FERRIS' MUELLER COLLECTS DAKTRONICS ALL-AMERICA KUDOS

Bulldog Softball Player Receives Third-Team Honors

Sarah Mueller became the fourth player in the Ferris State softball program's history to earn All-America honors with her 2007 Third-Team selection.

Sarah Mueller (Santa Clarita, Calif./Valencia), a sophomore pitcher-utility player on the Ferris State University softball team, has been selected to the 2007 Daktronics, Inc., All-America Softball Third Team in an announcement released Thursday (May 17).

The national voting was conducted by the NCAA Division II sports information directors from across the country.

Mueller became a candidate for All-America honors after earning first-team All-Great Lakes Region First-Team laurels on May 9.

The all-region and All-America teams are sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at all levels of competition. The Daktronics All-America program exists in several other sports at the NCAA-II level, but the 2007 campaign represents the inaugural season for softball honors.

A 2007 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Great Lakes Region Second-Team member, Mueller was Ferris State's top hitter this season with a .342 batting average in 48 outings. She paced the Bulldogs in base hits (54), at bats (158), runs scored (34), doubles (16), slugging percentage (.563), stolen bases (13), and on base percentage (.423). The 2007 first-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) pick also recorded a team and career-best 15 multiple-hit game performances this spring while producing a squad second-highest nine multi-RBI game efforts.

Mueller turned in a 12-8 pitching record as she posted a 1.61 earned run average in 121.2 innings. A starter in 18 of 23 games, she tossed 13 complete games while producing a team-high tying five shutouts. The right-handed thrower also accumulated 68 strikeouts and held the opposition to a .228 batting average.

Among the NCAA-II national leaders through games of May 13, Mueller ranked 47th in earned run average (1.61) and was 48th in doubles per game (0.33).

Mueller's 16 doubles this campaign tied for the second highest single-season total in the program's history while her season batting average (.342) and hits total (54) both tied for 19th place. In pitching, she nothced the 12th lowest earned run average (1.61), tied for 15th in most wins (12), and placed 21st in most strikeouts (68).

Following her initial two (2006-07) seasons at FSU, Mueller currently is 11th on the Bulldogs' all-time leaders list in batting average (.310), tied for 14th in home runs (six), tied for 16th in doubles (22), and tied for 17th in stolen bases (18). Among the school's all-time pitching leaders, Mueller is 10th in complete games (32), earned run average (1.87), and victories (24). She ranks 11th in both winning percentage (.545) and strikeouts (155) while her 269.1 innings pitched is the 12th-highest total.

Mueller played an integral role this season in helping Ferris State register a 31-17 overall record as the Bulldogs were NCAA-II Regional qualifiers for the fifth time in school history. Ferris placed third at the 2007 NCAA-II Great Lakes Region Tournament (May 10-13) in Romeoville, Ill.

The All-America kudos for Mueller marks the first time since 2000 in which a FSU softball player has attained such national acclaim. Anne Bentley was honored as a NFCA All-America Third-Team honoree in 2000. Joining Mueller and Bentley on the prestigious list is Jody Gifford, who was a NFCA Second-Team selection in 1999 after garnering third-team accolades in 1997. Patti Silye holds the distinction of being Ferris' first All-American as she was recognized as a 1982 first-team selection by Converse.

Lock Haven's Kristen Erb was voted as the Daktronics' NCAA-II Pitcher of the Year while third baseman Carmen Paez of Florida Gulf Coast was tabbed the Player of the Year.