Lewis University Athletics

    Lewis softball has produced many outstanding pitchers. Sarah Van Gorp was the best of them all.
    Van Gorp enjoyed a dream season in 2000. She posted a 24-5 record, led the NCAA Division II with a 0.36 ERA (pacing the Flyers to a national-best 0.65 team ERA), fired 15 shutouts and struck out 120 in the circle; at the plate she tallied team bests in batting average (.362), RBI (36), on-base percentage (.445) and walks (15) and added five home runs. That effort led to Van Gorp being named Lewis' first softball All-American (first team) and was a major reason the Flyers went 50-11, won the Great Lakes Regional crown, earned the program's first NCAA Championship bid and landed at No.10 in the final National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II national poll.
    Van Gorp was named to the All-GLVC first team for a fourth time and collected a second consecutive GLVC Player of the Year award that season. She also made the All-Great Lakes Region first team for a third time (she was an all-region second team choice as a sophomore) and was selected to the All-Great Lakes Regional tournament team.
    As a junior, Van Gorp tallied a 17-8 record, 0.95 ERA, nine shutouts and 117 strikeouts and hurled a school-record three no-hitters for the GLVC champion Flyers. She was 14-6 with a 1.32 ERA, five shutouts and 71 strikeouts as a sophomore, and 20-6 with a 0.92 ERA, 12 shutouts and 92 strikeouts as a freshman. Van Gorp was the Flyers' Most Valuable Player as a sophomore and senior, co-MVP as a junior and Rookie of the Year as a freshman.
    Van Gorp is Lewis' career leader in victories (75, with just 25 losses), ERA (0.85), shutouts (41), complete games (88), innings(696 1/3), appearance (124) and starts (95) and is second in strikeouts (400) and saves (13). She allowed an average of just 4.23 hits per seven innings and had a sparkling 3.88:1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio. The Flyers compiled a 166-61-1 overall record (.730) and a 70-16-1 GLVC ledger (.810) during Van Gorp's career; the 50 wins in 2000 were a program record until the 2001 team won 55 games.