SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Drury softball pitcher Kristina Bettis became the program’s first-ever All-American selection when she named to the First Team of the 2022 NCAA-II All-American squad by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Wednesday.
Bettis went 24-5 with a 1.05 earned run average for the Panthers and shattered the team’s single-season strikeout record, fanning 271 hitters in 214.2 innings. Drury’s previous mark for strikeouts was 168, set by Monica Villarreal in 2012. Bettis allowed just a .140 average to opposing batters, and of the 103 hits she allowed, only 14 went for extra bases.
The junior from Swansea, Illinois, earned the GLVC Pitcher of the Week award five times during the season and was named the NCAA-II National Pitcher of the Week on March 22. Bettis fired the program’s first no-hitter since 2012 on March 14 at Rockhurst, and she ended the year with 11 complete-game shutouts.
As the Panthers advanced to their first NCAA-II Tournament in program history, Bettis proved her dominance when games mattered the most. From April 30 to May 13, she pitched 48.1 innings without allowing an earned run and posted a 0.20 ERA in four postseason starts surrendering six hits, one earned run and three walks with 37 strikeouts in 35.1 innings. Twice during the postseason, she took no-hitters into the eighth inning with a contest that went eight innings in the GLVC Semifinals against Indianapolis and a 14-inning win against Saginaw Valley State in the opening round of the NCAA-II Midwest Regional.
Jerry Breaux completed his fifth season as the Panthers head coach and his 29th year guiding a collegiate program. He has now had players honored with an All-American award at all three programs he has led, with players receiving the honor at Evangel University and Louisiana State-Alexandria.
Drury ended the year 37-17 and 21-7 in the GLVC. Their 37 wins set a program record, and their 21-7 mark in the league also set a team record for their best conference winning percentage. The Panthers reached the NCAA-II Tournament for the first time in the program’s 15-year history and advanced to the round of the 32.
Kristina Bettis Awards in 2022 (through May 25)
NCAA-II First Team All-American, NFCA
NCAA-II Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year, D2CCA
First Team All-Midwest Region, D2CCA
First Team All-Midwest Region, NFCA
GLVC Pitcher of the Year
First Team All-GLVC
Drury Women’s Athletics Newcomer of the Year
GLVC Pitcher of the Week (April 4)
GLVC Pitcher of the Week (March 28)
NCAA-II Pitcher of the Week (March 22)
GLVC Pitcher of the Week (March 21)
GLVC Pitcher of the Week (March 7)
GLVC Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 14)
