Five Softball Players Earn All-American Honors
Thursday, May 28, 2009 | Softball
Five members of the No. 1/1 University of Florida softball team were named NCFA/Louisville Slugger All-Americans on Wednesday by the Nation Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Senior Stacey Nelson (Los Alamitos, Calif.) earned first-team honors while sophomore Stephanie Brombacher (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), sophomore Kelsey Bruder (Corona, Calif.), junior Francesca Enea (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and sophomore Aja Paculba (Wildomar, Calif.) were all named to the second team.
Florida matched its season high with five All-America honors, as five Gators earned accolades in 2008. UF was also the only school to register five All-Americans. In all, the softball program has racked up 13 All-American awards. Thirteen Southeastern Conference student-athletes earned spots on the roster.
Brombacher holds a 41-0 career record, registering her second 20-win season in 2009. The righty is the only player in UF history to win her first 10 games without suffering a loss. She has the second lowest ERA (0.77) in the country and the second lowest opponent batting average (.160) in the conference. She recorded Florida's first no-hitter since 2006 with an 8-0, five-inning win over Coastal Carolina, striking out nine in the process. She earned All-SEC second-team honors and Pitcher of the Week accolades once. This marked the first All-America honor for the sophomore.
Bruder has come alive this season, playing her first year in the outfield, mainly in right. She leads the team in slugging percentage (.731), doubles (16), total bases (133) and sacrifice flies (5). She has tallied three grand slams, including one with two outs in the bottom of the seventh against Mississippi State to give the Gators the come-from-behind win. She is second on the team with 15 homers, 11 game-winning RBI, eight game-winning runs, 18 multi-hit games and 21 multi-RBI games. She earned the team's only national player of the week honors for her performance at the SEC tournament and was named to the All-SEC first team and SEC All-Defensive team. The honor is also the first for Bruder.
Enea, now a two-time All-American, leads the team in home runs (17), RBI (69), walks (45) and on-base percentage (.720). The left fielder broke UF's single-season RBI record while claiming the top spot in the record books for career RBI (155) and home runs (40). She has hit three grand slams this season and a team-high 13 game-winning RBI. She was named to the All-SEC second team and earned Player of the Week honors twice.
This marked the third time Nelson earned the honor, and second year she earned first-team honors. The two-time SEC Pitcher of the Year holds the lowest ERA (.041) in the country and has collected the most shutouts (20) and victories (39). The right-hander holds 23 records at Florida and is seventh in NCAA history for 134 career wins. She was recently named the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award recipient. Nelson pitched two no-hitters this season, both against SEC opponents, and was named Pitcher of the Week three times, tying for the most this season. She also earned her 1,000th career strikeout, becoming the first Gator to do so in the history of the program. She ranks fifth on the SEC's all-time list with 1,080.
Paculba became the first freshman in program history earn All-American honors in 2008. She repeats this season as she leads the team in hits (73), runs (67) and stolen bases (27). This season, she broke the single-season runs scored and stolen bases records. She earned her first All-SEC first team honor and second All-Defensive team honor. The second baseman also has recorded the second-most assists (93) on the team. She has tallied 21 game-winning runs and 22 multi-hit games, the most on the team.
2009 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-Americans
|
| First Team | |
| Pos. | Name | School |
| P | Kelsi Dunne | University of Alabama |
| P | Danielle Lawrie | University of Washington |
| P | Stacey Nelson | University of Florida |
| C | Chelsea Bramlett | Mississippi State University |
| 1B | Adrienne Monka | Northwestern University |
| 2B | Ashley Charters | University of Washington |
| 3B | Alisa Goler | University of Georgia |
| SS | Tammy Williams | Northwestern University |
| OF | Kaitlin Cochran | Arizona State University |
| OF | Brittany Lastrapes | University of Arizona |
| OF | Katie Schroeder | University of California, Los Angeles |
| UT/P | Megan Langenfeld | University of California, Los Angeles |
| UT/Non-P | Amber Flores | University of Oklahoma |
| At-Large/OF | Alissa Haber | Stanford University |
| At-Large/UT-P | Charlotte Morgan | University of Alabama |
| At-Large/P | Nikki Nemitz | University of Michigan |
| At-Large/P | Missy Penna | Stanford University |
| At-Large/OF | Taylor Schlopy | University of Georgia |
| Second Team | ||
| Pos. | Name | School |
| P | Brandice Balschmiter | University of Massachusetts |
| P | Stephanie Brombacher | University of Florida |
| P | Brittany Weil | University of Iowa |
| C | Melissa Roth | University of Louisville |
| 1B | Tiffany Huff | University of Tennessee |
| 2B | Aja Paculba | University of Florida |
| 3B | Lindsey Ubrun | University of Missouri |
| SS | Molly Johnson | University of Kentucky |
| OF | Kelsey Bruder | University of Florida |
| OF | Francesca Enea | University of Florida |
| OF | Brittany Rogers | University of Alabama |
| UT/P | Becca Heteniak | DePaul University |
| UT/Non-P | Amanda Chidester | University of Michigan |
| At-Large/SS | Ashley Hansen | Stanford University |
| At-Large/C | Sam Marder | Ohio State University |
| At-Large/3B | Amber Patton | DePaul University |
| At-Large/1B | Samantha Ricketts | University of Oklahoma |
| At-Large/UT-Non-P | Marla Schweisberger | University of Missouri |
| Third Team | ||
| Pos. | Name | School |
| P | Sarah Hamilton | Florida State University |
| P | Kim Reeder | Ohio State University |
| P | Kristen Wadwell | University of Louisville |
| C | Stacie Chambers | University of Arizona |
| 1B | Christine Lux | University of Notre Dame |
| 2B | Danielle Zymkowitz | University of Illinois |
| 3B (tie) | Cheyenne Jenks | Florida Gulf Coast University |
| 3B (tie) | Jenae Leles | University of Arizona |
| SS | Bianca Mejia | Long Island University |
| OF | Karli Hubbard | University of Louisiana at Lafayette |
| OF | Kirsten Shortridge | Louisiana State University |
| OF | Carly Normandin | University of Massachusetts |
| UT/P | Danielle Spaulding | University of North Carolina |
| UT/Non-P | Jessica Mapes | Arizona State University |
| At-Large/UT-P | Val Arioto | University of California |
| At-Large/2B | Amanda Kamekona | University of California, Los Angeles |
| At-Large/P | Tara Oltman | Creighton University |
| At-Large/C | Jessica Purcell | Brigham Young University |
| At-Large/OF | Jenna Rhodes | Virginia Tech |
