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"I'm so excited for Emily. This
is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Redbird head coach Melinda
Fischer said. "She was one of the leaders on our team this year, and
I know she will be successful in this new league."
National Pro Fastpitch is
entering its first season, following the success of the 2003 NPF
All-Star Tour. The league, which runs from June 1 through the end of
August, is comprised of six teams, including the Texas Thunder,
Akron Racers, California Sunbirds, Tucson Heat and the New York/New
Jersey Juggernaut.
Former Olympic softball coach
Ralph Raymond, one of the winningest coaches in fast pitch softball
history, is the Riptide's head coach. Team members include players
from universities such as Stanford, California and LSU.
Krueger took her game to
another level in 2004, leading the Redbirds in nearly every
offensive category on her way to becoming one of the top hitters in
Illinois State and Missouri Valley Conference history. The Pleasant
Plains native broke both the conference and school single-season
home run marks during her senior campaign. She finished with 18 on
the season. After just two seasons in a Redbird uniform, Krueger
finished her collegiate career at No. 2 on the Illinois State career
home run list with 24 round-trippers and was tied for third on the
Missouri Valley career list.
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Despite playing at Illinois
State for just two seasons, Krueger's name peppers the hitting
categories in the Redbird record book. She set a new career slugging
percentage standard at .656 and tied the record for homers in a game
with two against Illinois, while also ranking in the top three for
RBIs in a season (43), extra base hits in a season (28) and
single-season slugging percentage (.817).
The Lincoln Land Community
College transfer was a unanimous all-Valley first team selection and
was the runner-up for player of the year in 2004. She led the league
in home runs and helped the Redbirds break the Valley's
single-season home run record with 45 round-trippers this season.
Throughout the 2004 season, Krueger also ranked among the best in
the nation in home runs per game, RBIs per game, slugging percentage
and batting average.
Krueger's other honors this season include receiving preseason
Valley honorable mention accolades, being named to the Western
Kentucky all-tournament team, earning Valley Player of the Week on
March 16 and Valley all-tournament team honors. She also garnered
second-team honors in the Division I Great Lakes Region from the
Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association and was a
member of the Illinois State Athletics Honor Roll.
[Illinois
State Athletics news release] |
