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LOUISVILLE, Ky. --- A career year has put Paige Austin amongst the top pitchers in the nation, as she collected a NFCA and D2CCA DII All-American honor on Wednesday. The prestigious award set Austin apart in the history books of the Biola softball program.

Austin was nominated for the award after logging her third NFCA and D2CCA All-Region selection last week. In addition, the righty hurler has picked up four All-PacWest honors, including a PacWest Pitcher of the Year award this season. The prestigious all-american honor made for the first in program history at the Division II level and the 24th overall for BU softball.

The fifth-year senior put together a historic campaign in 2022. 14 wins and 205 strikeouts highlighted her best season for the Eagles, while impacting the record books. Austin became the program leader for career strikeouts with 777 and strikeouts in a single game with 17 in the season-opener, which only improved on her own record.

"She truly is a great leader on and off the field," head coach Kristin Halte commented. "I love that someone so humble but yet so great is receiving so much praise and recognition. She is truly one of the best to have ever pitched for Biola Softball."

Austin added to the spectacular campaign with a pair of no-hitters. The first one came in a dazzling seven-inning affair against Hawaii Pacific. One hit-by-pitch spoiled the perfect game but Austin still managed to secure the 1-0 win with no hits allowed and only 87 pitches thrown. Later in 2022, Austin followed with another no-no but this time the Eagles cruised to a mercy rule in five innings. Academy of Art struck out 11 times against Austin, while nabbing two walks and one hit-by-pitch in the 10-0 Biola win.

Statistically, the Los Alamitos native put together one of the best seasons in program history. A 0.74 earned-run average from Austin was good enough for third in the single-season record books. 205 strikeouts also ranked third against all previous pitchers in Biola's history.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association and the Division II Conference Commissioners Association each named three all-american teams. The amazing first team awards put an exclamation point on a fantastic career for Paige Austin.