Furgerson and Feeney Share MWC South Player of the Year Honors
Mildebrath, Closson, and Watts also named All-MWC South Division 
  

Leigh Anne Furgerson (top) and Kristen Feeney are MWC South Players of the Year.

In addition to earning all-conference honors, senior pitcher Leigh Anne Furgerson (Carmel, IN/Westfield) and junior third baseman/outfielder Kristen Feeney (Brookfield, IL/Lyons Township) shared the MWC South Division Player of the Year Award. Furgerson finished the season with a 15-6 overall record, a 1.32 earned run average, and 83 strikeouts. In seven MWC starts, she was 6-1 with a league-best 0.58 ERA, 33 strikeouts, and a pair of shutouts. Furgerson also earned all-conference honors in 2001 and 2003.

Feeney led the Foresters with a .359 batting average, .539 slugging percentage, and .410 on-base percentage. She set a single-season school record with 15 doubles and ranked second on the team in runs batted in (27), tied-for-second in stolen bases (8), and third in runs scored (27). The first-time All-MWC selection led the conference with 14 RBI during the 13-game league schedule and tied for the lead with seven doubles.

Junior second baseman/shortstop Alissa Mildebrath (Carol Stream, IL/West Chicago) earned all-conference honors for the third straight year. She batted .304 on the season with nine doubles and a pair of home runs. She tied for the team lead with 28 runs scored and ranked second in the league with a dozen in MWC play, where she batted .341.

Sophomore pitcher/first baseman Ashley Closson (Murphysboro, IL/Murphysboro) and freshman utility player Erin Watts (Evergreen Park, IL/Evergreen Park) joined Feeney as first-time All-MWC honorees. Closson was 7-6 with two saves for the Foresters this year, struck out 81 batters, and posted a team-best 1.25 earned run average. She also batted .263 with a home run and 18 runs batted in and drew a team-high nine walks. Closson was 5-1 with a 1.00 ERA in conference games.

Watts led the Foresters with six home runs and 28 runs batted in and tied for first with 28 runs scored. She ranked fourth on the team in batting average (.289), second in slugging percentage (.500), and tied-for-second in stolen bases (8). In conference play, she batted .342 and tied for second in the league with 11 RBI and tied for fourth with 10 runs scored.

The five all-conference selections are the most in team history. Four Foresters were honored each of the last three seasons and in 1985.

Complete All-Midwest Conference Teams