LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Guilford College seniors Makayla Carver (Granite Falls, N.C./South Caldwell) and Makayla Crawford (Rutherfordton, N.C./R-S Central) earned Second Team All-Atlantic Region recognition from the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association (NFCA) Wednesday.
All-region students are nominated and selected by NFCA member coaches in each of the eight Division III regions. First-team all-region choices are eligible for selection to the NFCA All-America team, which will be announced May 22 online at NFCA.org and in person at the NCAA Division III Championship banquet in Tyler, Texas.
Carver, the 2019 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Player of the Year and a First Team All-ODAC pick, earned her school-record fourth career all-region commendation. She was a first-team All-Atlantic pick in 2018 and 2017, and a second-team selection in 2016. The outfielder is fifth in the ODAC with a .416 batting average. Her 16 doubles stand second in the league. Carver also collected three homers, 22 RBI, and 10 stolen bases in 11 tries. Guilford’s first four-time All-ODAC pick batted .455 in league play with two homers, 10 doubles, and eight RBI. She also pitched in six late-season games and recorded a 3-2 record with a 5.65 earned run average in 31 innings.
Carver had 15 multiple-hit games this year, including three contests with three hits. With only two errors in 35 games, she tallied a .964 fielding percentage. The 2018 NFCA Third Team All-American set Guilford’s career marks for hits (217), doubles (57), and stolen bases (59) this year. She graduates ranked second in school history with a .449 career batting average.
Crawford, a catcher, earned her second straight Second Team All-Atlantic nod. The 2019 Second Team All-ODAC selection ranks seventh in the ODAC with a .406 batting average. She stands fifth among conference leaders with 56 hits and second with a school-record 58 RBI. Her school-standard six sacrifice flies rank third in Division III. Crawford is fourth nationally in RBI, fifth in RBI per game (1.41), 32nd in home runs, and 34th in total bases (99). She had 18 multiple-hit games this year and posted three or more hits six times.
Guilford’s 2018-19 Female Athlete of the Year, Crawford stands fourth in the ODAC with a team-high 10 home runs this season (third-best in school history) and exits as the program leader in with 31 career homer. She also set school standards for career RBI (140) and slugging percentage (.754). Her .418 career batting average and .460 on-base percentage both stand rank all-time at Guilford.
Coach Dennis Shores’ Quakers logged a 26-15 overall record, 10-10 in the ODAC. The 26 victories rank fourth on the school’s single-season list. Shores may return as many as 17 letter winners next year.