LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Bates softball sophomore catcher Isabel Bettencourt and junior pitcher Delaney Rankin have both been named second team All-Region, as announced Friday by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. 

This comes on the heels of both players being named first team All-NESCAC on Wednesday, well-deserved recognition for outstanding seasons at the plate and in the circle.

Bettencourt (Peabody, Mass.) had a breakout season in her second year as a Bobcat. A team captain, she raised her batting average from .232 as a rookie to a team-leading .378 this season. Bettencourt also saw her slugging percentage jump from .305 to a team-leading .550. She led the Bates softball team in both home runs (3) and RBIs (28) as well.

Some of Bettencourt's top performances included: the opening 10-game trip to Florida that saw her hit a ridiculous .656, going 2-3 with a double and two RBIs in a win over Trinity, going 3-3 in a win over then-No. 13 nationally ranked Williams, going 2-4 with a home run and three RBIs against Amherst, and going 3-4 with a double and a run scored against Hamilton.

Rankin (Harrison, Maine) has been a solid pitcher from day one at Bates, but the team captain took her game to another level in the circle this year. She posted a career-best 1.82 ERA while holding opponents to a career-low .227 batting average. Incredibly, Rankin won her first eight starts of the season on her way to a career-high 11 wins, just three shy of the Bates record for wins in one season. 

Some of Rankin's top performances included: a shutout and a career-high 15 strikeouts in the season-opener against Framingham State, seven strikeouts in a 1-0 shutout of Clarkson, and eight-inning complete game victories over Wesleyan and Amherst. She also earned a win in a nine-inning complete game against Babson. 

Bettencourt and Rankin helped lead Bates to 16 wins this year, tied for the fourth-most victories in the 50-year history of Bates softball.