Brittany Wood and Madison Didion of the Barton Community College softball team was recently named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) West Region All-American team recognizing Division I players of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).   Wood led the selections as one of four outfielders named to the first team while Didion was honored as one of the top six pitchers in the region landing on the second team. The accolades follow a record breaking season by the Lady Cougars as Didion was named the Freshman and Most Valuable Player of the year in the Region VI and the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) conference with Wood being selected to second team.
Near the top of the NJCAA for most of the season in homeruns and runs batted in, Wood ended her season with a program second best performance of 21 long balls, 21 doubles, and 93 runs batted in. Ranking sixth on the national chart in homeruns, the South Jordan, Utah, was five behind Harper’s record 26 while tying Whitney Boeh’s 2008 performance. Wood also finished third in the country in RBIs falling one short of Harper’s 2015 record. In addition to her performance at the plate, Wood was also solid defensively fielding .967 including many spectacular grabs in her 61 chances and gunning out numerous runners around the diamond from her left field position.
At the center of all the action stood the 5’5” right hander Didion finishing her inaugural collegiate season with a program second best 26-5 record. The Montesano, Washington, native struck out 210 batters for an average of 8.06 per game as both stats ranked 11th in Division I softball this season. Recording eight or more strikeouts in thirteen games, Didion’s achievements also finished second in program history behind’s Michelle Moores’ 33-12 record and 219 punch-outs set in the 1993 season.
Ninety-four student-athletes representing 46 programs received 2016 NFCA NJCAA DI All-Region accolades. These awards honor softball student-athletes from the Association’s three regions with first- and second-team recognitions. NFCA member coaches from each region voted on the teams, and all honorees are now eligible for the 2016 NFCA NJCAA Division I All-American squads.
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