May 15, 2002
WACO, Texas - Three members of Baylor's 24th-ranked softball team earned all-Midwest Region honors, announced Wednesday by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Sophomore outfielder Kelly Levesque, freshman pitcher Cristin Vitek and junior designated player Nan Wilkins were selected to the second team.
The Midwest Region is comprised of schools from the Big 12 Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, the Southland Conference and the Missouri Valley Conference. Coaches from schools in the region select the all-region teams. Athletes receiving all-region honors are eligible for all-America honors.
Levesque, a native of Sun City, Calif., led the Lady Bears with a .326 batting average to go along with two home runs, 14 RBI, 10 doubles and three triples. She also led the team with a .446 on base percentage, the second-highest mark in the program's history. A first-team all-Big 12 Conference selection, Levesque swiped 18 bases in 22 attempts and led the Big 12 conference with 29 walks.
Vitek, a native of Katy, Texas, proved one of the most dominating freshman hurlers in the nation this season. She finished the year 17-9 with a staff-best 0.89 ERA that ranked 14th nationally. In 180.1 innings of work, Vitek posted a school-record 187 strikeouts against only 29 walks. Opponents hit just .170 off the second-team all-Big 12 selection, and she recorded four saves, eight complete games and four complete-game shutouts.
Wilkins, a native of Houston, Texas, blossomed in the second half of the season and finished third on the team with a .288 batting average. She also had three home runs, third on the team, 20 RBI and a .471 slugging percentage, second on the team. Wilkins was fourth on the team with eight doubles and hit .327 over the last 20 games of the season.
This trio gives Baylor 14 NFCA all-region honorees since the program's re-instatement in 1996. Of the 26 athletes named to the two all-region teams, 22 were from Big 12 schools, including 11 of the 12 first-team members.
Baylor established more than 30 individual and team school records this season, including wins in a season (46) and best Big 12 Conference finish (fourth).
