Moon Township, Pa. – Graduate students Natalie Higgins and Madison Riggle of the RMU softball team were named to the 2021 Horizon League All-Academic Team Tuesday, it was announced by the league.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must have participated in 50 percent of the team's overall games, completed one year at the member institution and own a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a 4.00 scale. The 2021 #HLSB All-Academic Team is selected by the Horizon League Faculty Athletics Representatives.

Higgins, a native of Middletown, Ohio, owns a 3.50 cumulative grade point average while pursuing a master's degree in organizational leadership. During the 2021 campaign, Higgins led the Colonials in batting average (.412), runs (27), hits (61), doubles (10), home runs (9) and RBI (43). She finished second for the Horizon League batting title, trailing only Kayla Wedl (.417) of UIC.

Just the second student-athlete in program history to hit .400 in a season, Higgins produced a slash line of .412/.463/.676 during the 2021 campaign. A 2021 All-Horizon League First Team honoree, Higgins also was named to the 2021 Great Lakes All-Region First Team according to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

In the RMU career record book, Higgins owns the school record for doubles with 45 while ranking second all-time in RBI (129), third in games played (198) and hits (213), fourth in home runs (25) and eighth in batting average (.339).

Riggle, a native of Roseville, Ohio, finished second for RMU during the 2021 season in home runs (7), RBI (21) and slugging percentage (.475). From the pitching circle, Riggle appeared in 14 games, including eight starts, and recorded a 3.77 earned run average (ERA) with 35 strikeouts.

In pursuing a master's degree in human resources management, Riggle has compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.87. In 159 career games, Riggle concluded her time in an RMU uniform with 12 doubles, 12 home runs and 43 RBI while winning 18 games from the pitching circle.

Led by head coach Jexx Varner, the Colonials finished with an overall record of 25-19 (.568) in 2021, including a mark of 20-14 (.588) in the Horizon League. RMU earned a spot in the 2021 Horizon League Tournament in its first year in the league and also reached the 25-win plateau for the first time since 2015.

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