SALEM, Ore. – Junior
Rebecca Franke (Pendleton, Ore.) became the second straight Warrior softball player to be named the "FAN"-atic Player of the Month in record-breaking fashion following the conclusion of this month's on-line fan poll, as announced Monday by Corban's Sports Information Office.
For the first-time ever, Warrior fans headed to the on-line poll and voted in record numbers with over 1,300 votes cast within a 30-day period. Franke, a first-year outfielder for the Warriors, tallied a record-breaking 704 votes en route to receiving 54% of the votes cast last month en route to earning the final award for the 2008-09 season.
During the month of April, Franke helped lead the Warriors through the heart of Cascade Collegiate Conference play and registered a .356 batting average that included 16 hits in 45 at-bats. The 5-foot-4 outfielder scored a team-high tying nine runs, while belting a team-leading four home runs to go along with a team-best three doubles and 11 runs batted in.
Over the course of 16 games during the month of April, Franke registered a team-high slugging percentage of .689 that included a team-best 31 total bases.
For the season, Franke appeared in and started all 42 games and registered a batting average of .373 that was good enough for second on the team. Offensively, Franke led the Warriors in eight categories that included at-bats (126), runs scored (34), hits (47 – tied for team-lead and single-season record), doubles (12), home runs (9), runs batted in (37), total bases (86), and slugging percentage (.683).
Following the conclusion of her first season as a Warrior, Franke was named to the All-Cascade Collegiate Conference Team and set single-season records in three offensive categories (hits, doubles, & RBI) for the Warriors.
Franke joins past "FAN"-atic Player of the Month winners
Clay Martin (men's basketball),
Katie Steigleman (women's basketball), and
Rachel Steigleman (softball).
NOTE: Stay tuned for the return of the monthly "FAN"-atic Player of the Month poll in September!