SARAH MUELLER NAMED TO DAKTRONICS GREAT LAKES REGION TEAM

Ferris State Sophomore Receives First-Team Recognition

Ferris State University softball sophomore pitcher-designated player Sarah Mueller (Santa Clarita, Calif./Valencia) has been tabbed a 2007 Daktronics, Inc., All-Great Lakes Region First Team selection in a vote by the region's sports information directors.

Mueller, who was selected as an utility player, along with the other first-team members will now move onto the ballot for All-America voting. The 2007 Daktronics, Inc., All-America Teams will be announced Wednesday, May 16.

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 inaugural All-Great Lakes Region selections consists of both a first and second team with 13 student-athletes per squad. The top vote-getter in each region was recognized as the regional player and pitcher of the year. Players competing at schools in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), and the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conferences (WVIAA) formed the All-Great Lakes Region teams.

Mueller led Ferris State with a .342 batting average this season in 48 contests. She recorded team highs in hits (54), at bats (158), runs scored (34), doubles (16), slugging percentage (.563), stolen bases (13), and on base percentage (.423). Mueller, who was honored as the GLIAC Softball Player of the Week this spring (March 26), registered a squad and career-best 15 multiple-hit games, which included nine two-hit outings, to go with a team second-place nine multi-RBI game performances.

Mueller, a 2007 All-GLIAC First-Team pick, also put together a team-high tying 10-game winning streak earlier this season (March 8-25). She produced five hits in as many at bats with two RBI and three runs scored versus Findlay at the Wayne State Invitational (March 24). For her efforts, Mueller was a WSU Invite All-Tournament Team member.

In the pitching circle, Mueller compiled a 12-8 record with a 1.61 earned run average in 121.2 innings. She started 18 of her 23 appearances and posted 13 complete games. The right-handed thrower notched a team-high tying five shutouts while tallying 68 strikeouts and 21 walks. Mueller held her opponent's to a .228 batting average. Mueller fanned a season-best 10 hitters in four innings of relief as Ferris State bested Aquinas in an 7-5 non-conference victory (April 18). She tossed a complete-game one hitter in a 4-0 non-league win at Wayne State (March 24) after limiting Indianapolis to two hits coupled with nine strikeouts in a complete-game 1-0 non-conference decision (March 10) at the Florida Rebel Spring Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla.

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

In 89 career games to date, Mueller is batting .310 with 88 base hits in 284 official plate appearances. She has totaled 22 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 45 RBI, 18 stolen bases, .472 slugging percentage, .388 on base percentage, and a .952 fielding percentage. Mueller currently ranks 11th among Ferris State's all-time leaders in batting average (.310), tied for 14th in home runs (six), tied for 16th in doubles (22), and tied for 17th place in stolen bases (18).

In pitching, Mueller sports a 24-20 career mark with a 1.87 earned run average in 269.1 innings. Appearing in 47 contests, she has made 41 starts and racked up 32 complete games with 10 being shutouts. Mueller has recorded 155 strikeouts, 50 walks, and a .241 opponent hitting average. She presently ranks 10th on FSU's career leaders list in complete games (32), 10th in earned run average (1.87) and victories (24), 11th in winning percentage (.545) and strikeouts (155), and 12th in innings pitched (269.1).

The GLIAC featured a combined 10 representatives on either the All-Great Lakes Region First or Second Teams, which included five first-team members. Gannon's junior shortstop Jaclyn Corroto was named the Daktronics, Inc., Great Lakes Region Player of the Year while Wayne State junior Molly Yetman was honored as the Pitcher of the Year.

Ferris State finished the 2007 season with a 31-17 overall record, which included a second-place 14-6 GLIAC mark. The Bulldogs, under 10th-year head coach Keri Becker, made their fifth NCAA-II Regional Tournament appearance this spring and their second one in the last three years.