Erica Harper of the Barton Community College softball team was recently named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) third team recognizing Division I players of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Emporia State University signee was also recognized by the NFCA as one of four outfielders to garner first-team honors in the West Region team. The accolades follow a record breaking season by Harper earning the Most Valuable Player and first team awards in both Region VI and the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC).
Overlooked for the NJCAA All-American award the 5’5″ sophomore right fielder from Topeka, Kansas, rewrote the school single season record book in five categories batting .457 with 90 hits, scoring 71 runs, blasting 26 home runs, and driving in 94 runs. Leading the NJCAA in home runs and finishing second in runs batted in, Harper led Region VI in both categories, runs scored, total bases (181), and extra base hits (39) while finishing with a fifth best batting average. In addition to single season school records, Harper also left her mark atop the Barton career charts for batting average (.464), hits (156), home runs (35), doubles (34), and RBI (141) while finishing second behind Hensley in runs (107) and walks (30).
In addition to the individual numbers, Harper also helped lead the Lady Cougars to its first Region VI Championship since 1993. Falling just shy of a trip to nationals in the District E Championship, Barton finished the 2014-15 campaign under second-year Head Coach Marc Benjamin at 36-20.
The NFCA is the professional growth organization for fastpitch softball coaches consisting of more than 4,300 members from all competitive levels of play. For more information regarding the NFCA visit www.nfca.org.
