LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Postseason honors were announced on Thursday afternoon by the NFCA and Villanova had two players named Mideast All-Region selections on the eve of the program's second straight appearance in an NCAA regional. Graduate pitcher/utility Paige Rauch (Windsor, N.Y.) was named a first team all-region honoree for the fourth time in her career, while senior shortstop Megan Kern (Royersford, Pa.) was named to the third team and is an all-region pick for the first time in her career.
 
This is the second straight year and the third time since 2003 that the Wildcats have had multiple players earn NFCA All-Region accolades. All first and second team selections to the NFCA All-Region squads move on to earn consideration for All-America recognition which will be announced next month. Villanova (32-22) won its second straight BIG EAST title last weekend and is set to play in the Orlando Regional of the Division I Softball Championship beginning on Friday evening when it takes on #16 overall seed and regional host UCF (46-12) at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
PAIGE RAUCH
Graduate Student, Pitcher/Utility, Windsor, N.Y.
NFCA Mideast Region First Team
 
Rauch has been a first team all-region selection every season of her collegiate career with the exception of 2020 when postseason awards were not given out. The consensus preseason All-American has continued to be the ace of the Wildcats pitching staff in addition to leading the team in several offensive categories as a batter. Her most recent starting role came at the BIG EAST Championship last weekend when she pitched 20 consecutive scoreless innings in a span of less than 48 hours and was chosen as the Most Outstanding Player at the conference tournament for the second straight season. Rauch also earned first team All-BIG EAST honors earlier this month.
 
Over the past few weeks Rauch has put together one of the most dominant stretches of her career in the circle. Beginning with her final home start against Seton Hall on May 1, Rauch is 4-0 with a 0.47 ERA and 33 strikeouts with just 14 hits allowed over 30.0 innings pitched in her last five starts. She has made 32 appearances in all on the season and is 17-6 with a 2.19 ERA and a 0.971 WHIP spanning 147 1/3 innings. Rauch has held opposing batters to a .209 batting average against her, owns a 6.1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and has fanned 166 batters compared to giving up just 116 hits.
 
The offensive numbers are just as impressive for Rauch, who has played both corner outfield positions as well as first base and second base this season when she is in the lineup as a non-pitcher. Rauch is slashing .306/.409/.561 on the year while leading the team with 10 home runs. She also has a team-high 42 runs scored, 34 runs batted in, 97 total bases and 28 walks. Rauch has reached base safely in each of her last 25 games in a row and has 14 of her 21 extra-base hits (seven home runs) during a 22-5 surge by Villanova over the second half of the season. Rauch has broken 15 school records during her career, including eight career marks and seven single-season records.
 
MEGAN KERN
Senior, Shortstop, Royersford, Pa.
NFCA Mideast Region Second Team
 
This is the first time in her career that Kern has been an all-region honoree. The recognition is well-deserved in the midst of a sensational year for the Wildcats infielder, who has batted cleanup for much of the 2022 campaign and is slashing .320/.403/.568 on the year. Kern leads the team in slugging percentage and OPS (.971), as well as in doubles (15) and extra-base hits (24). She has scored 27 runs, has 30 RBI and ranks second in the Villanova lineup with nine home runs and 23 walks. During a key stretch late in the season, Kern reached base safely in a career-high 16 consecutive games from April 9-May 12, with that streak culminating in the first game of the BIG EAST Championship when Kern went 1-for-3 and drove in the first run in a 2-0 victory for the Wildcats over #2 seed Butler.
 
Not always the flashiest player on the field, Kern has nevertheless developed into one of the top sluggers in Villanova history. She enters play in this week's NCAA regional ranked seventh all-time in the Wildcats record book in slugging percentage (.535) and OPS (.927) while coming in at 10^th in on-base percentage (.392) and 17^th in batting average (.319). Kern is currently tied for 12^th in school history with 34 doubles, and her 15 two-base hits this year are the eighth-most in a single season by a Villanova batter. This year she batted .320 with six doubles, four home runs and only six strikeouts in 86 plate appearances during the BIG EAST regular season.
 
Fielding assists are not a statistic that often get a lot of attention, but with the Wildcats pitching staff generating a high volume of ground balls Kern has stepped up her game at shortstop. Her 126 assists this season are the second most in school history and just one off the single-season Villanova record of 127 assists which has stood for 17 years. Kern has tallied 71 putouts and 126 assists on the year in 214 total chances. She is tied for 10^th in school history with 14 career double plays turned, including eight this season which is tied for ninth in the Wildcats annals. Her defense has been particularly valuable in support of a Villanova pitching staff which generates 57 percent of balls in play on the ground.