LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – LSU Eunice placed four members on the 2019 NFCA NJCAA Division II All-Region team, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) announced this week.
The Bengals were part of the South Region as 91 student-athletes were chosen in the three All-Region teams.
Jensen Howell and Sara Tate were placed on the first team of the South All-Region team, while Heather Zumo and Hannah Smith garnered second team nominations.
The four players were part of a six-member LSUE delegation on the All-Region 23 team last week.
Howell capped off a prolific first season in Eunice as the NJCAA Division II National Tournament Most Outstanding Pitcher.
The sophomore shined in postseason, posting a 4-0 record with one save that included a 0.23 earned run average.
For the season, Howell was 22-3 with a 1.03 ERA, tops nationally, including 173 strikeouts and a .183 batters against average.
The Alexandria native also tossed the school's first no-hitter in four years during a 15-1 victory over Baton Rouge CC on April 17.
Howell tossed 12 complete games during the season while posting three double-digit strikeout performances including a season-high 13 on April 14 against BRCC.
The Louisiana Tech transfer also hit at a .321 clip, driving in 33 RBI and 3 home runs.
She earned NJCAA Pitcher of the Week honors once during the season on February 4-10.
Sara Tate was a sparkplug for the Bengals, serving as the lead-off batter.
Tate stole a team-high 47 bases which ranked fifth nationally and her five triples were ranked 21st.
The Pine Prairie native led LSUE with a .353 average and was also tops in hits (60), runs (64) and at-bats (170).
The UT-Tyler commitment also tallied 11 doubles, 8 home runs and 47 RBI.
The speedster had 12 multi-stolen base games including three on three separate occasions.
Zumo returns to the All-Region team after earning first-team honors last year.
The sophomore, again, shined for the Bengals with a 20-2 record and 2.77 earned run average. Zumo finished top 25 nationally in strikeouts with 137 and 14th in wins.
The Baton Rouge native leaves LSUE with 49 wins in her Bengal career, the most in program history.
The Southeastern Louisiana signee was named the NJCAA Pitcher of the Week during the opening weekend of the season.
Hannah Smith was LSUE’s every day starter at third base after transferring from South Alabama.
Smith belted 20 doubles from the heart of the LSUE lineup, ranking 17th in NJCAA Division II.
The Catholic-New Iberia product was second on the team with a .353 batting average, driving in 40 RBIs off 59 hits and scoring 52 runs.
LSUE was one of nine schools with four players selected to the NFCA All-Region squad. Five schools – Phoenix College, Des Moines Area CC, Iowa Central CC, Pitt CC and Itawamba CC – had all five of their nominees make their respective All-Region teams.
All-Region players are nominated and selected by NFCA member head coaches in each of the three NJCAA regions.