MARSHALL, Minn. - The Southwest Minnesota State softball team and several individuals finished the 2009 season ranked high in the final NCAA Division II national statistics released earlier this month.

As a team, the Mustangs were among the top 50 in a pair of categories.  SMSU ranked 49th in ERA with a 2.20 mark in the category.  The team also finished ranked 41st in home runs per game with 0.82.

Individually, SMSU was in the top 100 a total of 12 times.  Amanda Burkhart, a senior from Omaha, Neb., was the highest ranked Mustang as she checked in at No. 9 in total home runs with 18.  Burkhart was also ranked 17th in home runs per game with 0.33, 40th in RBIs per game with 1.04 and 52nd in slugging percentage with a .728 average.

Amanda Tucci, a senior from Oakdale, Minn., found herself herself in the top 100 nationally in three categories.  She was 99th in home runs per game with 0.20, 82nd in walks per game with 0.51 and 73rd in total home runs with 73.

Jessica Paczosa, a senior from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., ranked 15th in walks per game with 0.69 and 23rd in hit by pitch per game with 0.20.

Mustang ace Amanda Johnson, a senior from Fremont, Neb., cracked the top 100 in a trio categories.  The senior finished the season ranked 58th in ERA with a 1.66 average, 37th in strikeouts per seven innings with 7.6 and 36th in victories with 20.

SMSU finished the 2009 season with a 32-23 (21-5 NSIC) record and won the NSIC regular season title for the fourth straight season and fifth in the last six years. The Mustangs also made their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Southwest Minnesota State University, located in Marshall, Minn., is a member of NCAA Division II and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.