Paiva earns NFCA All-Region First Team honors

DICKINSON, N.D. – Rhea Paiva has been named National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) NAIA Region III First Team All-Region, the group announced this week.

Paiva, a senior from Las Vegas, Nevada, batted a team-best .436 on 75 hits with an on-base percentage of .500. She clubbed 10 doubles, a triple, and a home run on the season, and stole a career-best 28 bases, giving her the DSU school record for career stolen bases. She drove in 23 runs from the lead off spot in the lineup and scored 57 times, often advancing herself all the way to third base via passed balls or stolen bases before the next at bat had even concluded. She walked 17 times compared to just 13 strikeouts on the year.

Paiva was a catalyst for a Dickinson State offense that hit .317 as a team and scored 281 runs. In North Star play alone, Paiva hit .505 with 18 RBI, 16 stolen bases, and just three strikeouts.

"This award for Rhea is a testament to her hard work," said DSU Softball head coach Kristen Fleury. "She made a commitment to her senior season and it paid off. In between games she was always the player hitting in the cages, on days off she was in the cages. She battled through injuries and kept her head down and kept working. We are so proud of her for putting the extra work in and she is very deserving of this honor." 

She will now wait to see if she is named NFCA All-American sometime in the near future.