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Likens came into the 2007 season as the most recognizable name on the Lady Matadors’ roster, since she was named as a 2006 NJCAA 2^nd Team All-American.  The native of Eugene, Oregon was one of the most versatile members of the Lady Matadors’ softball team during her freshman campaign, excelling both in the middle infield and on the pitcher’s mound.  Despite pitching much of the latter part of the ’06 season with an injured hand, Likens was 16-6 on the mound as a freshman, with a team-leading 1.87 ERA while striking out 94 batters in 127 1/3 innings.  She also had 18 complete games in her 22 starts.  At the plate, she was the team’s clutch hitter, leading the team with 71 runs batted in, 7 home runs, 18 doubles and 116 total bases.  Besides the All-American honor, Likens was also named 1^st Team All-Region I and 2^nd Team All-ACCAC immediately after the 2006 season. 

When Likens returned for her sophomore campaign, she decided to concentrate more on being a position player, yet still wound up pitching 7 games for the Lady Mats, and leading them in earned run average (1.52) for the second straight season.  She was also threw 3 complete games while compiling a 4-2 record.  But it was the help she gave her fellow pitchers as a 2^nd baseman that really made the difference.  Likens started 58 of the 59 games she played in, hitting .349, and was second on the squad in runs scored (45), hits (66), triples (2), and led the team in stolen bases with 13. On the defensive side, she was tied for the best fielding percentage (.978) of any Matadors’ position player, committing only 4 errors in 182 plays she made at second base.

Likens now heads to the east coast, where she joins a program that reached the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament for the second straight year (and 3^rd in the last 5 seasons).  The 7^th-seeded Lady Buccaneers advanced to the winners’ bracket of the tournament earlier today with a 9-1 upset of 2^nd-seeded Alabama-Huntsville.  Barry-which finished the regular season with a 42-17 record-is hoping to return to the NCAA Division II National Tournament for the first time since 2002.