Valparaiso softball assistant coach Rachel Folden, a third-year catcher with the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch league, currently leads the nation’s top softball league in home runs.

Folden, who launched 17 home runs in her first two seasons as a member of the Bandits, has gone yard four times in the team’s first 12 games to pace the circuit.  Folden, a two-time All-NPF selection and the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2008, also ranks among the league leaders in RBIs (9, 2nd) and batting average (.314, 6th).

Folden recently completed her first season as an assistant coach with the Crusaders, helping guide the team to numerous offensive school records while also mentoring the Valpo battery to the program’s lowest team ERA in two decades.  Fans wishing to support Folden can head to Judson University in Elgin, Ill., home of the Bandits, where they will play eight home games over the next 11 days.