Received: 5/20/09 1:49:59 PM From: "Holly Krivokapich" <hollyk(at)softball.org> Subject: CORRECTION: Top Three Finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Announced
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CORRECTION: Danielle Lawrie isa Junior. For Immediate Release:5/20/2009 Top ThreeFinalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Announced OKLAHOMA CITY,Okla. The Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), ispleased to release its Top Three Finalists for the 2009 USA Softball Collegiate Player of theYear, which will be announced on Tues., May 26 at the NCAA WomensCollege World Series Party at the Park at ASA Hall of Fame Complex. The hunt for the Player ofthe Year started with a Top 50 Watch list and has been narrowed down to three;Arizona States Kaitlin Cochran, Washingtons Danielle Lawrie and FloridasStacey Nelson. Thebios of the Top Three Finalists are as follows: Kaitlin Cochran Arizona State Senior Yorba Linda, Calif. Kaitlin Cochran thus far in this season and throughout her career has ledthe nation in nearly every offensive category at one point in the season. ThePac-10 Player of Year still holds the nations leading on-base percentage andranks top 10 in batting average, slugging percentage, home runs, home runs per gameand is ranked in RBI per game. She has broken every ASU offensive career andsingle-season record and now continues to climb up the Pac-10 and NCAA recordbooks in hits, doubles, home runs, slugging percentage, on base percentage,walks and intentional walks. Cochran is hitting .424 on the season with 65 runsscored. She has drawn an incredible 59 walks with 59 RBI. In Pac-10 play, shehas still hit an impressive .404 with 17 RBI and a slugging percentage of0.915. Cochran earned the Pac-10 Player of the Week on March 31 as well asearned first-time honors. Danielle Lawrie Washington Junior Langley, British Columbia ThePac-10 leader in wins, ERA, strikeouts and shutouts, Lawrie is also among thenations top three in all four categories. She has thrown two no-hitters thisseason, against UCLA and Arizona to become the first pitcher in NCAA history tono-hit both in a career, let alone a season. She set a school record in theNCAA Regional Championship deciding game against No. 20 UMass, striking out 24batters in a 6-1, 15-inning win. She is the third pitcher in Pac-10 historywith 24+ strikeouts in a game. It was her 25th double-digit strikeout game ofthe season. She has also had two 18 strikeout games, one in seven inningsagainst Oregon and another in 11 innings against Fresno State and has 18shutouts, 12 of which have come against ranked teams. Among the teams she has shutout:No. 1 Florida, No. 2 UCLA, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Arizona, No. 7Michigan, No. 8 Georgia and No. 11 Ohio State. Lawrie has 454 strikeouts thisseason, three shy of breaking her own school record. She has gone over the1,000 career K mark and the 1,200 career K mark this season and now has 1,298,fifth in Pac-10 history and 15th in NCAA history along with four one-hittersand 10 two-hitters. She has won a Pac-10 record six Pitcher of the Week awardsas well as been named the NFCA and USA Softball National Player of the Week.Lawrie had a streak of 64.1 consecutive scoreless innings earlier in the seasonand 90.0 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. She broke UWscareer strikeout record early in the season and also broke the single-season UWstrikeout record. She also broke UWs single-season shutout record with 18. Her35 wins are also one shy of the school record. StaceyNelson Florida Senior Los Alamitos, Calif. Seniorpitcher Stacey Nelson continues to move up the NCAA record book, as she hastallied 131 wins in her career, seventh-best all time. She is second inSoutheastern Conference history, only behind Tennessee's Monica Abbott (189).This season, her 37-3 (.925) record one of the best in the nation and her ERA(0.43) leads the country. She is the first Gator to tally 1,000career strikeouts and sits in sixth in the SEC with 1,061. She holds 19single-season and career pitching records at Florida, including single-seasonshutouts (19, 2009) and career ERA (0.97). She has pitched two no-hittersin her career, both coming in her senior year against SEC opponents. In2008, she recorded a career-high 16 strikeouts in a 10-inning contest againstLong Beach State. This season, she tallied a season-high 14 Ks in theregional win over Texas A&M in just seven innings. For two years in arow, Nelson has earned the SEC Pitcher of the Year award (2008, 09), first-teamAll-SEC accolades (2008, 09) and SEC All-Defensive team honors (2008, 09). Shewas named Pitcher of the Week three times, tying for the most thisseason. Thisaward, which is considered the most prestigious honors in Division I women'scollegiate softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievementby female collegiate softball players across the country. Past winners of thisaward include UCLA's Stacey Nuveman, Florida State's Jessica Van der Linden,three-time winner Texas pitcher Cat Osterman, Tennessee's Monica Abbott andVirginia Tech's Angela Tincher. Holly Krivokapich Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications ASA/USA Softball 405-425-3431 www.asasoftball.com www.usasoftball.com Al's Fastball News *Email: fastball(at)pmihrm.com fastb...@pmihrm.com NEWS-1: http://www.AlsFastball.com/ NEWS-2: http://fastpitchwest.com/alsfastball VIA http://www.webbox.com
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