May 18, 2005

Columbia, Mo. - Missouri softball player Micaela Minner (Sanger, Texas) was named to the Midwest All-Region first team today as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Twenty-five individuals from across the Midwest were selected for the two teams and Minner was one of 12 individuals to receive first-team honors. This marks the first time in three years that a Tiger softball player has earned All-Midwest Region honors.

An outfielder on the 16th-ranked Missouri softball team, Minner leads her squad in batting average (.392) and on-base percentage (.508) and is tied with teammates Heather Kunkel and Jen Bruck with 15 home runs on the season. In the field, Minner has collected 89 putouts, five assists and only one error for a .989 fielding percentage.

Minner and her teammates will host sixth-seeded Stanford, Southern Illinois and Robert Morris, May 20-22, at University Field for the 2005 NCAA Regional Softball tournament. This is the first time the University of Missouri has hosted a softball post-season event and is the 10th time in school history that the Tigers have advanced to regional play.

Missouri will open the Columbia, Mo., NCAA Regional tournament, Friday, May 20, in a 2 p.m. (CT) game against Southern Illinois. A live broadcast will be provided through KCOU, 88.1 FM, and stats will be available at www.mutigers.com.