GREENVILLE, S.C. – After helping lead the Mid-America Christian softball team to its third 30-win season in the last four years and an appearance in the NCCAA World Series Semifinal, redshirt freshman pitcher Rachel Eggleston was named to the NCCAA All-America First Team list on Friday.
In her first year as a starter and her second season on the team, Eggleston put together a remarkable season in the circle, finishing the year with a 17-11 record, a 3.03 earned run average and struck out 118 batters and issued just 27 walks over 152.2 innings of work.
Coming off a torn ACL that ended her 2021 campaign after her first appearance, the Kiowa, Okla. native led MACU to some monumental victories during the 2022, which included the program's first ever win over No. 2 Oklahoma City in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament on May 6.
In that 2-1 victory, Eggleston only allowed one earned run on six hits with one walk and one strikeout while inducing a 3-unassisted double play groundout to seal the win.
Eggleston threw her first career no-hitter against Ecclesia on Mar. 16, allowing only one baserunner on a walk and struck out six in a 10-0 win.
In an 8-4 win over Central Christian on Apr. 12, Eggleston struck out a career-high 10 batters.
After finishing the year with a 4.37 strikeout-to-walk ratio, Eggleston became only the third MACU pitcher to ever record a plus-four clip in one year with 2021 NCCAA Central Region Player of the Year Katie Long notching a 4.62 rate and MACU Team of the Decade honoree Morgan Wardlow tallying a 4.30 mark during the 2017 campaign.
Eggleston set several program-record marks during the campaign, as her 17 wins tied Regan Martin (2021) for the second-most of any MACU pitcher in a single year while her 118 strikeouts ranks as the fifth-most notched in one season.
On-top of being named the NCCAA Central Region Player of the Year, Eggleston was also selected as an All-Sooner Athletic Conference First Team honoree.
After falling to eventual NCCAA National Champion Southwestern Assemblies of God in the World Series Semifinal on May 18, the Evangels wrapped up the year with a 35-23 overall record. Mid-America Christian was able to put together a strong surge in the final six weeks of the season after a doubleheader loss to No. 1 Oklahoma City dropped MACU to an 18-18 record. MACU closed out the year by winning 17 of its final 22 games. The 35 wins also rank as the third-most recorded in one year in the history of the program.
