May 10, 2005

Dearborn earns First Team All-MAC nod, LaChiana named to Second Team for NIU Softball CLEVELAND, OH--- Three years ago, Northern Illinois University softball player Kathy Dearborn took the Mid-American Conference by storm, earning Freshman of the Year honors and a Second Team All-MAC nomination. The senior finally made it back to the MAC's awards ceremony and put a fitting cap on her Huskie career Tuesday (May 10) by being named a First Team All-MAC honoree by league commissioner Rick Chryst. Dearborn (Geneseo, IL / Darnall) was one of two Huskies to appear on the 2005 All-MAC Team as pitcher Lindsey LaChiana (Oak Lawn, IL / Richards) made the Second Team. While the appointment marks LaChiana's first All-MAC honor, the junior also owns a First Team All-Horizon League nod from last spring and achieved All-Newcomer status in 2003 during her days at Loyola University-Chicago.

"Both of these players are very deserving of these awards," NIU head coach Donna Martin said. "They were our two most consistent players all season and it's nice that the conference was able to give them recognition for that."

Although both players spent time in the circle as NIU's one-two pitching combination this season, Dearborn made the All-MAC squad as an outfielder. The senior blew up in conference play, hitting a blistering .371 (23-for-62) with more than half of her hits going for extra bases (11 doubles and two triples). Dearborn scored 11 runs, drove six more in, and closed out MAC play with a .613 slugging percentage over 20 games.

The senior seemed to get hotter as the year went on, closing the season by hitting safely in 12 of her last 13 games including her last 10 in a row. Over those 13 contests, Dearborn hit .428 (18-for-42) with six multi-hit efforts and raised her season batting average .056 points to finish the season at .306. She also racked up four doubles, her lone stolen base of the season, and scored at least one run in six of her last seven ballgames.

"Kathy definitely became our go-to player by the end of the season," Martin explained. "She was clutch, consistent, and just came up big for us so often. What more can you ask from a player? You always hope that your players play their best in their senior year, and that's exactly what Kathy did. She was a good leader and a great role model for her teammates. She did whatever we asked of her all season long."

For the season, Dearborn finished second on the team with that .306 batting average and 23 runs scored while tying for the team lead with 13 doubles and two triples. She was also one of just three Huskies to finish the year with a slugging percentage of .500 or better, coming in at exactly .500 for the season.

With all of the offensive exploits, it's easy to forget that Dearborn also made 18 appearances in the circle for Northern Illinois including 14 starts. Five of those trips to the rubber came in MAC play where she went 2-2 with a save and led the team with a 1.44 earned run average. Dearborn's finest performance might have come in her final collegiate appearance against Ball State Saturday (May 7). Despite entering the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with runners on second and third, no outs, and NIU leading by just one run, Dearborn escaped the frame unscathed with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout to help lead the Huskies to a three-game sweep on the season's final weekend.

LaChiana, on the other hand, lived in the circle for the Huskies, throwing 187 innings over 35 appearances. In 27 of those trips to the circle, the three-time MAC West Division Pitcher of the Week allowed two earned runs or less including a streak of eight games in a row from Apr. 5 to Apr. 17. For the season, the junior went 16-13 with a 1.91 earned run average that was good enough for third in the MAC. She also racked up 156 strikeouts, tying Tracy Meade (1993) for the fifth-highest single-season total in school history. LaChiana posted three double-digit strikeout games including a career-best 13 in a complete-game win over North Dakota State back on Mar. 6.

"Lindsey was our workhorse this year, plain and simple," Martin said. "We had to fight through so many injury problems in our infield and outfield, but having Lindsey allowed us to have some flexibility as to who we put in what position. It's just great to have a pitcher that can eat up innings like that. She really stepped up for us all year and did a great job of keeping us in position to win as many games as she possibly could."

Despite being a newcomer to the MAC, LaChiana's numbers actually got better as soon as conference play began. League opponents hit just .205 off the right-hander and struck out 70 times while drawing only 21 walks in 91 and two-thirds innings. LaChiana posted a 1.53 ERA in loop contests and picked up the win in all three games against Ball State last weekend to become the first Huskie to notch three victories in the same weekend since Amy Krahula (Apr. 26-27, 2003 vs. Bowling Green State).

While LaChiana is set to return for her senior season next spring, Dearborn leaves Northern Illinois with an impressive combination of a .283 career batting average and 29 pitching victories to go along with a 2.94 earned run average and 464 innings pitched over four injury-free seasons. That's not to say the Dearborn name won't live on in DeKalb, however, as Kathy's sister Renee is set to begin her freshman campaign as a Huskie next spring.

-NIU-

2005 ALL-MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE SOFTBALL TEAMS

FIRST TEAM
Pos Name School
1B Kelly Quigley Akron
2B Jenny Tisevich Ohio
SS Gina Muratori Toledo
3B Gina Rango Bowling Green
3B Amy Hudson Central Michigan
C Rachel Folden Marshall
OF Kathy Dearborn Northern Illinois
OF Katie Niemi Western Michigan
OF Amanda Williams Marshall
P Liz Vrabel Bowling Green
P Randi Nielson Marshall
P Jill DeRoche Central Michigan
P Jackie Poggendorf Miami
DP Kerry Omerza Akron
UT Tricia VanDerSlik Western Michigan

SECOND TEAM
Pos Name School
1B Christian Dhondt Central Michigan
2B Megan McPherson Bowling Green
2B Marcy Hansen Buffalo
SS Sara Zilles Akron
SS Jessica Williams Marshall
3B Leigh Wintter Marshall
3B Liz Flack Eastern Michigan
C Whitney Lebowitz Kent State
OF Allison Vallas Bowling Green
OF Christin Sobeck Central Michigan
OF Christine Bills Miami
P Tina McCauley Akron
P Lindsey LaChiana Northern Illinois
DP Kim Pettitt Toledo
UT Megan MacKenzie Akron