NPF Chicago Bandits

Kara Nelson, Bandits Draftees Keep Producing for College Teams

Published on April 8, 2011 under National Pro Fastpitch (NPF)
Chicago Bandits News Release


With the college softball season in full swing, Bandits PR Intern Steve Jankowski took to the web to see what the 2011 Chicago Bandits draftees have been up to so far in their senior season. Check back each week to get an update on how the draftees are doing. Each selected player from the 2011 NPF Rookie Draft cannot officially sign a contract with their respective professional teams until after the completion of their college season.

Dorian Shaw - University of Michigan (Round 1, 4th overall) Shaw, a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for softball, went hitless in the past week. She went 0-for-1 with three walks in Michigan's home opening win over Bowling Green on March 30. Over the weekend against Indiana, she was hitless in a doubleheader, but walked four times in the two games. Shaw's batting average dropped to .398 on the season, but her home run total of 11 is tied for the team lead. Michigan is now 33-3 on the season and 3-1 in Big Ten play.

Megan Wiggins - University of Georgia (Round 2, 8th overall) Wiggins got the Bulldogs on the board early in the first game of a doubleheader against the University of Tennessee-Martin on Saturday. Her first-inning double to left-center scored Taylor Schlopy. She later scored on an Alisa Goler single, leading the Bulldogs to a 6-1 win. In game two, she went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, completing the sweep with a 6-0 victory.

In Wednesday's doubleheader against No. 8 Tennessee, Wiggins went 0-for-3 with a walk as Georgia dropped the first game 5-1. In the second game, she went 2-for-3 with an RBI single, but it wasn't enough, as the Lady Volunteers swept the series from the Bulldogs with a 9-4 win in game two. Wiggins, an All-SEC first teamer last season, is hitting .381, with 35 RBI and six home runs this year for the second-ranked Bulldogs, who are 32-6 on the season.

Alisa Goler - University of Georgia (Round 3, 12th overall) Goler, also a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, went 2-for-3 in the first game of a doubleheader against Tennessee-Martin. She singled in Wiggins and later scored in a three-run first inning in the Bulldogs win. In the second game, she went 0-for-2 with two walks as Georgia finished the weekend with a sweep of Tennessee-Martin.

Against Tennessee on Wednesday, Goler also had a quiet first game of the doubleheader, going 0-for-2 with two walks. In game two, she reached on a fielder's choice in the fifth inning, advanced to second base on a walk, and Megan Wiggins drove her in with a single. She went 1-for-3 on the day with a walk and two runs scored. So far this year, she has hit .417 with a team-high 13 home runs and 42 runs batted in. She's slugging .865, and is a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts.

Kristin Shifflett - Radford University (Round 4, 16th overall) Shifflett went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday at Gardner-Webb, as Radford won 7-0. She also contributed defensively, catching a sinking liner and doubling a runner off of first for one of three double-plays turned by Radford. In game two, Shifflett drove in a run with an RBI groundout in Radford's 3-0 win to take the second game. Radford was unable to complete the three-game sweep, as they fell 3-2 in nine innings on Sunday. Shifflett drove in another run on a sacrifice fly in the third inning, going 1-for-3 on the day. She's hitting .277 on the year with one home run and 11 RBI for Radford, who is 21-12 in 2011. She is the first Radford University female athlete to be drafted by a professional sports team, and the second Radford alum to play for the Bandits, after Ashley Carlson spent two seasons with the Bandits. Nelson (red) takes off against the Illini (photo by Zack Stork)

Kara Nelson - Illinois State University (Round 5, 20th overall) Nelson had another strong weekend as the Redbirds completed a three-game sweep of Missouri State over the weekend. She went a combined 2-for-7 in the doubleheader on Saturday. She scored a run in ISU's 8-0 win in game two of the series. In game three on Sunday, she went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in and scored another. Nelson singled and scored in the fifth to put ISU ahead for good. The next inning, she added a two-run single to push the Redbird's lead to five runs as ISU went on to win 7-2.

Against Illinois on Wednesday night, Nelson started a six-run third inning with a double to right center and scored on junior Liz Andrew's grand slam. She went 2-for-5 in the Redbirds' 10-6 win over the Illini. Nelson, from Moline, Ill. is the first Illinois State softball player to be selected in the NPF draft. She leads the Missouri Valley Conference with a .425 batting average and a league-high three triples. She has also added 14 RBIs and 25 runs scored for ISU, who is 21-11 on the year and 7-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

For more information about the Chicago Bandits or to buy tickets to any 2011 home games, call 877-7BANDIT.

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National Pro Fastpitch Stories from April 8, 2011


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