For the second consecutive day, University of Southern Indiana senior second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) and junior pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) have been named first-team All-Midwest Region, this time by the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association (NFCA) thanks to a vote by the region’s coaches. Both Johnson and Leonhardt garnered first-team D2CCA All-Region honors Wednesday thanks to a vote by the region’s sports information directors.
Johnson is earning NFCA All-Region honors for the first time in her career, while Leonhardt is collecting NFCA All-Region honors for the second time in her career.
In 2019, Johnson is hitting .371 with 11 doubles, five triples, four home runs and 32 RBIs. She leads USI with a .472 on-base percentage, 23 walks, 46 runs scored and a .579 slugging percentage.
Johnson was a unanimous first-team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference honoree in 2019 and was named GLVC Player of the Week earlier in the year.
The 2019 GLVC Pitcher of the Year and unanimous first-team All-GLVC selection, Leonhardt is currently 19-8 with four saves, a 1.35 ERA, .191 opponent batting average and 220 strikeouts. She has tossed 11 complete-game shutouts and two combined shutouts, and passed Brooke Harmening ’15 for first-place all-time at USI in career strikeouts (688).
Leonhardt, who is tied with Harmening first first-place all-time at USI with 74 career wins, also has gotten the job done at the plate, where she is hitting .366 with 11 doubles, a triple, a home run and 30 RBIs. She also has 15 sacrifices on the year.
Both Johnson and Leonhardt advance to the national ballot for All-America consideration. The duo has helped lead the Screaming Eagles into their fifth straight NCAA II Tournament appearance and sixth in the last seven years.
USI (33-19), which won the national championship a year ago, begins the NCAA II Midwest Region #1 Tournament today at 4 p.m. (CDT) when it takes on Wayne State University in the opening round in Allendale, Michigan. USI, which is receivi
