Aleshia Ocasio has the third-best ERA in the country.
Gourley, Ocasio Named USA Softball Player of the Year Top 10 Finalists
Wednesday, May 11, 2016 | Softball
Delanie Gourley and Aleshia Ocasio are Top 10 Finalists for the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.
OKLAHOMA CITY – University of Florida junior Delanie Gourley and sophomore Aleshia Ocasio were named Top 10 Finalists for the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, announced Wednesday by the Amateur Softball Association of America.
Now in its 15th year, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, awarded by the National Governing Body for Softball in the United States, recognizes outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female collegiate softball players across the country.
This year's Top 10 Finalists are comprised of three seniors, five juniors, and two sophomores. The student-athletes selected represent nine NCAA Division I universities and six athletic conferences. Florida leads the way among universities with two athlete representatives, while Alabama, Auburn, Florida Atlantic, James Madison, Louisiana-Lafayette, Michigan, Minnesota and Notre Dame each have one student-athlete represented.
A season ago, Lauren Haeger became the first Gator to receive the award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women's softball. Haeger was one of three finalists in addition to Oregon's Cheridan Hawkins and Michigan's Sierra Romero.
Meet the Gators
Aleshia Ocasio
Ocasio, who was Florida's third freshman pitcher to gather All-America honors in school history (Aja Paculba, 2008; Hannah Rogers, 2011), has continued to improve and is having a record-breaking sophomore season.
Statistically, Ocasio is 19-1 this season with a school-record six saves. In 128.0 innings pitched, the St. Cloud Fla. native has notched the third-best earned run average (0.71) to go along with 127 strikeouts and 21 walks while holding opposing hitters to just a .189 batting average.
Ocasio's astounding 0.71 ERA (128.0 IP) would go down as the second-best ERA for a single season in Florida history if the season ended today. Stacey Nelson currently holds the top two single season ERAs in program history, as she recorded a 0.61 ERA (285.1 IP) in 2009 and 0.75 (352.2 IP) in 2008.
A few weeks ago after earning two wins and one save in 10 shutout innings at LSU, Ocasio garnered SEC Pitcher of the Week honors, marking her second-career SEC weekly award of her career.
Against Jacksonville on Feb. 17, she recorded the 16th no hitter in Florida history and the first since her teammate Delanie Gourley threw one in the 2014 NCAA Regional against Florida A&M (May, 16). A hit batter in the first and a walk in the fourth were the only base runners allowed. Her no-no was the first in a home opener in program history
Following her no hitter, rookie Kelly Barnhill one-hit JU in a complete game effort. Ocasio and Barnhill became the first set of Florida teammates to throw a no hitter and one hitter back-to-back since Stacey Nelson and Stephanie Brombacher accomplished the feat on Feb. 13, 2009, against Texas Tech and Coastal Carolina.
Delanie Gourley
Gourley, who became the first left-handed pitcher to sign with the Gators under Tim Walton, is 18-3 this season with five saves. In a team-high 138.2 innings pitched this season, the Lakeside, Calif. native has notched the fourth-lowest ERA in the NCAA (0.76) to go along with a career-high 202 strikeouts and 44 walks while holding opposing hitters to just a .142 batting average.
Her astounding 0.76 ERA (138.2 IP) would go down as the third-best ERA for a single season in history if the season ended today. In addition, the left-hander's opponent's batting average against her is an astounding .144, as she is challenging Gladding for her school-record mark of .146 that she achieved in 2004 as well.
Gourley, who's thrown four one-hitters this season, threw her second no hitter of the season and third of her career against Mississippi State in late April. Gourley recorded her first no hitter this season against South Dakota on March 9.
That no-no was her first since May 16, 2014 against FAMU.
Gourley joined Hannah Rogers as the only Gators to throw three no hitters. In addition, she's one of four Gators (Hannah Rogers, 2013; Stacey Nelson, 2009, Beth Dieter, 2000) to throw two no hitters in one season.
Gourley also combined with freshman Kelly Barnhill for a Florida single-game record 18 strikeouts against FAMU on March 6. The Lakeside, Calif. product recorded a career-high 16 strikeouts this past weekend against Arkansas.
Future Announcements
USA Softball will announce the Top 3 Finalists on May 25. The 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed May 31.
Next Up
Florida will open play at the SEC Tournament in Starkville, Miss., on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET against the winner of today's Ole Miss-Georgia game. The SEC Network will televise the contest. Florida Sports Talk will have the radio broadcast with Adam Schick (play-by-play) and former Gator Kelsey Horton (analysis) on the call. In addition, a live stats link will be available on the schedule page on FloridaGators.com.
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