LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Oklahoma Baptist's
Kayleigh Jones and
Morgan Max were named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's (NFCA) Division II All-Region First Team on Thursday.
It marks the second straight season that multiple Bison garnered All-Region accolades. Last year, Jones and
Emily Adler earned NFCA First Team recognition.
Jones has now earned three All-Region nods in her career. In her final season on Bison Hill, she was the GAC Pitcher of the Year for the second time and was named an All-GAC First Team selection.
Heading into Thursday's NCAA Tournament game with Augustana (S.D.), Jones has three no-hitters. She has struck out at least 10 batters in 12 appearances and has held opponents to a .173 batting average. Plus, she has some of the best statistical marks in Division II: seventh in strikeouts (244); 11th in strikeouts per seven innings (9.6); 10th in hits allowed per seven (4.25) and 19th in shutouts (7).
Among her best performances, she struck out a program-record 20 batters and allowed just one hit during the Feb. 18 contest versus Central Missouri. Furthermore, during the season, Jones became the first Bison pitcher to reach 1,000 career strikeouts.
Max has been outstanding this spring too. Her first all-region honor comes after she was named GAC Player of the Year and an All-GAC First Team member. Her stat line included a .386 batting average, .650 slugging mark, .482 on-base percentage, 13 doubles and eight homers. All those marks were not only personal-bests for Max, but they ranked top-five in the GAC.
One of Max's best efforts came against Southeastern Oklahoma State on March 10. In that contest, she secured two homers with five RBI. The Moore, Okla., native was also a talented pitcher for OBU. She made eight appearances and didn't give up an earned run in seven of those.
With the help of Jones and Max, the Bison program notched 40 wins, won the GAC Regular Season Championship and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.
