College Softball News – Guilford’s Rachel Howard Named to All-Region Team

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Guilford College’s Rachel Howard (Efland, N.C./Cedar Ridge) earned Third Team All-Atlantic Region recognition from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Monday. She is one of 361 NCAA Division III students so honored.

Howard earned Second-Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) recognition earlier this month. The senior first baseman led the Quakers and ranked second in the ODAC with a career-high .458 batting average, Guilford’s fourth-highest average all-time. She tops the conference with 14 doubles and her .540 on-base percentage and 54 hits both stand second in the league. Howard collected 38 RBI, third-best in the ODAC, 80 total bases and four home runs. She won the league’s first Hitter of the Week Award of the season and hit safely in all but six games. Howard had 17 multiple-hit games and 11 contests with two or more RBI. She plated a season-high four runners thanks to a grand-slam home run versus Keystone and was three-for-four with a homer and three RBI the game before against Mary Baldwin College. Howard hit .450 with eight doubles and 14 RBI in 20 ODAC contests.

Howard concludes her career with a .394 batting average, the second-highest in school history. She also stands second among the Quakers’ all-time doubles (40) and RBI (118) leaders, and is third in hits (182), total bases (263), walks (46) and fielding percentage (.974). Howard leaves with Guilford’s career marks for fielding chances (842) and double plays turned (31).

Howard helped coach Dennis Shores’ Quakers to a 24-17 overall record (11-9 ODAC). Guilford qualified for its second straight ODAC Tournament this year and could return as many as 18 students from the 2015 club next year.