Amanda Lorenz is the first rookie in school history to be voted as a First Team All-SEC performer.
Seven Gators Earn SEC Softball Accolades
Tuesday, May 10, 2016 | Softball
The awards were voted on by the conference’s 13 head coaches.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After Florida won its sixth Southeastern Conference Championship this past weekend, SEC Freshman of the Year Amanda Lorenz headlines a group of seven Gator Softball players to receive All-SEC accolades. The awards were voted on by the conference's 13 head coaches and announced Tuesday by the league office.
UF opens play at the 2016 SEC Tournament on Thursday afternoon as the No. 1 seed against the winner of Wednesday's contest between No. 8 seed Georgia (40-16) and No. 9 seed Ole Miss (38-19).
Lorenz becomes the second Gator to be named SEC Freshman of the Year, and the first since Mandy Schuerman in 2002. In addition, the Moorpark, Calif. native is the first rookie in school history to be voted as a First Team All-SEC performer.
Junior Delanie Gourley (LHP) and sophomores Aleshia Ocasio (RHP) and Kayli Kvistad (DP/U) join Lorenz as First Team All-SEC selections, while outfielder Kirsti Merritt and catcher Aubree Munro earned spots on the Second Team All-SEC. In addition, rookie right-hander Kelly Barnhill was named to the All-Freshman team.
Although Florida has the top fielding percentage in the SEC and the second-best mark in the country, Munro was UF's lone student-athlete named to the SEC All-Defensive team.
Merritt (2015 First Team All-SEC; 2013 All-Freshman) and Ocasio (2015 All-Freshman) are the only two Gators who have previously garnered SEC accolades in their careers.
UF's four student-athletes named First Team All-SEC was the top mark in the conference, and Florida has seven All-SEC recipients for the first time since 2012.
Overall, Florida has now accumulated 47 All-SEC selections by 24 players in Walton's tenure and 71 all-conference honors in program history. The Gators have received 19 SEC All-Defensive accolades by 12 players since the league introduced the award in 2008. The Orange and Blue have had 29 Freshman All-SEC selections in the Walton era and 32 dating back to the accolade's inception in 2004.
Below is a look at the accomplishments of each of Florida's All-SEC performers:
Amanda Lorenz
SEC Freshman of the Year
First Team All-SEC
SEC All-Freshman
- Ranks among league leaders in hitting (ninth, .401), hits (seventh, 65), runs scored (T-10th, 53), doubles (T-9th, 13), walks (fifth, 43) and on-base percentage (sixth, .526)
- Tied for the second-most hits (29) in SEC play and is tied for 10th in batting with a .377 mark
- Has started and hit second, third, fourth or fifth in every game this season for the Gators
- Hasn't committed an error in 43 chances in leftfield this season
- Named NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 Finalist
- Named SEC Freshman of the Week once (3/28)
Delanie Gourley
First Team All-SEC
- Holds an 18-3 record with a team-high 202 strikeouts in 138.2 innings pitched
- Ranks among the conference's best in ERA (third, 0.76), victories (T-9th, 18), strikeouts (second, 202), saves (T-4th, 5) and opposing batting average (second, .142)
- Recorded her second no hitter of the season and third of her career against Mississippi State in late April
- Named SEC Pitcher of the Week once (4/25)
- Named USA Softball National Player of the Week once (4/19)
- Named USA Softball Player of the Year Top 25 Finalist
Aleshia Ocasio
First Team All-SEC
- Holds a 19-1 record with a team-best 0.71 ERA in 128.0 innings pitched
- Ranks among the conference's best in ERA (second, 0.71), victories (seventh, 19), strikeouts (10th, 127), saves (T-1st, 6) and opposing batting average (sixth, .189)
- Earned two wins and one save in 10 shutout innings at LSU and recorded a pair of wins in Florida's SEC opening series at Auburn
- Named SEC Pitcher of the Week once (3/28)
- Named USA Softball Player of the Year Top 25 Finalist
Kayli Kvistad
First Team All-SEC
- Ranks among league leaders in hitting (seventh, .408), slugging percentage (seventh, .708), home runs (T-15th, 11), RBI (fifth, 60) and on-base percentage (eighth, .524)
- One of eight hitters with an on base percentage above .500 in conference play and ranks third with 27 RBI during league games
- Has yet to play a defensive inning this season, as she has been Florida's DP throughout the entire season
- Recorded a five RBI performance in UF's series opener against Mississippi State
- During that contest, she recorded her third-career and second multi-home run game of the season
- With two outs in the 7th inning and the score tied in UF' series opener at No. 3 Auburn, she hit a go-ahead three-run home run to propel the Gators to victory
Kirsti Merritt
Second Team All-SEC
- Tied for fifth in RBI (24), tied for eighth in home runs (six) and 15th in slugging percentage (.597) in conference games among all SEC players
- Holds the SEC Record for hit by pitches with 70... She passed Auburn's Myesha Finney who had 67 in her career
- Was Florida's top run-producer in UF's SEC opening series at Auburn, as she went three for nine with one double, two home runs, six RBI and four runs scored
- Has not committed an error in 44 chances this season in centerfield
- Recorded seven outfield assists in 2016
Aubree Munro
Second Team All-SEC
All-Defensive (C)
- Totaled the most defensive chances in the SEC this season (446) and has the most putouts as well (413)
- Recorded a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in SEC play
- Ranks second in the conference with two runners picked off
- Caught five runners stealing this season but only seven opposing baserunners have attempted a stolen base against the Brea, Calif. native
- Having her best offensive season as a collegian, as she's hitting .289 (39-for-135) with three home runs, six doubles, one triple, 28 RBI and 20 runs scored
- In Florida's series-clinching win against Mississippi State, she hit her first-career grand slam to power UF past MSU, 6-3
Kelly Barnhill
All-Freshman
- Holds a 15-0 record with a team-best .133 batting average against in 101.0 innings pitched
- Ranks among the conference's best in ERA (fifth, 1.32), victories (13th, 15), strikeouts (seventh, 157) and opposing batting average (first, .133)
- She recorded Florida's fourth no hitter of the season the first of her career last Sunday against Arkansas.
- She joined Lindsay Littlejohn (Feb. 19, 2006, Longwood) and Delanie Gourley (May 16, 2014, Florida A&M) as the only freshmen in program history to throw a no hitter.
- UF's rookie right-hander and Gator Great Stacey Nelson are the only two Gators to throw no hitters against the Razorbacks. Nelson no hit UA on April 26, 2009.
- Named SEC Freshman of the Week twice (3/21, 5/9)
- Named NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 Finalist
First Team All-SEC
P – Delanie Gourley, Florida
P – Aleshia Ocasio, Florida
P – Kelsey Nunley, Kentucky
IF – Kasey Cooper, Auburn
IF – Alyssa DiCarlo, Georgia
IF – Bianka Bell, LSU
IF – Meghan Gregg, Tennessee
IF – Tori Vidales, Texas A&M
OF – Haylie McCleney, Alabama
OF – Amanda Lorenz, Florida
OF – Sydni Emanuel, Georgia
OF – Emily Crane, Missouri
C – Ashley Walters, Texas A&M
DP/U – Kayli Kvistad, Florida
Second Team All-SEC
P – Sydney Littlejohn, Alabama
P – Chelsea Wilkinson, Georgia
P – Carley Hoover, LSU
IF – Leona Lafaele, Alabama
IF – Jade Rhodes, Auburn
IF – Alex Hugo, Georgia
IF – Tina Iosefa, Georgia
IF – Sami Fagan, Missouri
OF – Kirsti Merritt, Florida
OF – Cortni Emanuel, Georgia
OF – Taylor Gadbois, Missouri
OF – Keeli Milligan, Texas A&M
C – Aubree Munro, Florida
DP/U – Rainey Gaffin, Tennessee
Freshman All-SEC
P – Kelly Barnhill, Florida
P – Matty Moss, Tennessee
P – Samantha Show, Texas A&M
IF – Alyssa DiCarlo, Georgia
IF – Lacey Sumerlin, Georgia
IF – Hailey Lunderman, Ole Miss
IF – Aubrey Leach, Tennessee
IF – Kaitlyn Alderink, Texas A&M
OF – Amanda Lorenz, Florida
OF – Regan Nash, Missouri
OF – Brooke Vines, Tennessee
OF – Keeli Milligan, Texas A&M
C – Reagan Dykes, Alabama
DP/U – Abbey Cheek, Kentucky
SEC All-Defensive
P – Rainey Gaffin, Tennessee
C – Aubree Munro, Florida
1B – Leona Lafaele, Alabama
1B – Jade Rhodes, Auburn]
1B – Maisie Steed, Kentucky
1B – Tori Vidales, Texas A&M
2B – Emily Carosone, Auburn
SS – Christian Stokes, Kentucky
3B – Kasey Cooper, Auburn
LF – Kallie Case, Alabama
CF – Haylie McCleney, Alabama
RF – Emily Crane, Missouri
Player of the Year: Kasey Cooper, Auburn
Pitcher of the Year: Kelsey Nunley, Kentucky
Freshman of the Year: Amanda Lorenz, Florida
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Kasey Cooper, Auburn
Coach of the Year: Rachel Lawson, Kentucky Team All-SEC
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