- 2007 Great Lake All-Region Softball Teams
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; May 16, 2007 - Offensive leader and center fielder Danielle Kinley (Carlsbad, Calif.) has been named to the first team All-Great Lakes Region, as announced today by the NFCA. Over the next few weeks, she will be considered for All-America honors. If selected, she would become just the third Nittany Lion to ever earn NFCA All-America accolades.
The regional honor is the first of Kinley's career. Earlier this season, she also received third team All-Big Ten honors and a selection to the ESPN the Magazine First Team Academic All-District.
A after a second team nod her freshman year, Kinley did not disappoint in her sophomore campaign and leads the Lions with a sizzling .385 average this year and an outstanding .368 average in Big Ten play. Her 18 doubles in 2007 ties the school record for doubles in a season and includes an outstanding 14 in conference play. She leads the team in almost every major offensive category and also has drawn a team-best 21 walks. Kinley has been on fire at the plate, batting over .400 for most of the season and sending home a team-leading 31 RBIs. She also has three homeruns this season and has anchored the outfield for the Nittany Lions, earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors early in the season.
Penn State (26-23) meets Oregon on Friday, May 18 at 4 p.m. to open NCAA action in the Columbia, S.C. Region. No. 15 seed N.C. State, and South Carolina are also in the regional. The Nittany Lions' NCAA bid is the team's seventh in the past eight years and marks the third straight year that Penn State has received an invitation. Follow the Lions' NCAA trip on GoPSusports.com all this week.