Ricki Rothbauer was named All-GLVC

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University softball team will face Lewis at 2:30 p.m. (Central time) Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional at Edwardsville, Ill.

NKU enters the NCAA Tournament with a 38-19 record and is the No. 5 seed. Lewis, which has defeated NKU three times in four meetings this season, owns a 39-13 record and is the No. 4 seed.

This past weekend, Lewis knocked off NKU twice at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. NKU is making its fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Norse are the two-time defending Great Lakes Region champions.

NKU PLAYERS HONORED: Four NKU players were named All-Great Lakes Valley Conference. Ricki Rothbauer, Heather Cotner and Katybeth Coode each were named to the GLVC’s first team. The Norse’s Sarah King earned a spot on the second team.

Rothbauer, a senior second baseman from Louisville, Ky., is batting .371 with a team-leading 72 hits. She also has nine doubles and is second on the team in runs scored with 41. Rothbauer currently ranks No. 4 in NKU history with 226 career hits.

Cotner, a senior left fielder from Sunman, Ind., leads NKU with 42 runs scored. She is also batting .326 with three home runs and 34 runs batted in.

Coode, a freshman designated player from Louisville, Ky., is batting .321 with 11 doubles and two home runs.

Rachele Vogelpohl has 11 career homers

King, a sophomore catcher/outfielder from Louisville, Ky., leads NKU in hitting with a .405 batting average. King also ranks first on the team in home runs (6), RBI (43) and doubles (14).

POWER SOURCE: King’s six home runs this spring have tied the NKU single-season record. She enters the NCAA Tournament with 88 career RBI, which ranks No. 3 in school history.

POWER SOURCE, PART II: NKU enters the NCAA Tournament with a school-record 27 home runs this season. Norse senior Rachele Vogelpohl has four homers this season, and she ranks No. 2 in NKU history in that category with 11.

Vogelpohl needs two home runs to tie the NKU all-time record of 13, held by Krista Eldridge.

SMITH SETS NKU FRESHMAN RECORD: NKU’s Amanda Smith owns a 22-10 record in the circle this spring. She is just the second freshman in Norse history to reach the 20-win plateau.

Emily Breitholle finished 20-5 in 2002 to become the first NKU pitcher to win 20 games. Smith’s 22 victories are the most ever recorded by an NKU freshman. The most wins by a Norse pitcher in a season is 32, set by Krystal Lewallen in 2005.

A YEAR AGO IN THE GREAT LAKES REGIONAL: NKU won three straight games to capture the 2005 NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region title, beating Ferris State (9-1), SIUE (2-0) and Northwood (2-0). Those games were played at Highland Heights, Ky.

NKU AGAINST THE GREAT LAKES REGION FIELD: NKU is 4-6 this season in head-to-head competition against teams in the Great Lakes Region field. NKU is 1-3 against Lewis. The Norse split doubleheaders against Wayne State, SIUE and Southern Indiana.