Ten Members of the Softball Program Earn 15 SEC Honors
Wednesday, May 6, 2009 | Softball
The No. 1/1 University of Florida team earned 15 Southeastern Conference honors, the league announced on Wednesday. Senior Stacey Nelson (Los Alamitos, Calif.) was named SEC Pitcher of the Year for the second year in a row, while head coach Tim Walton was honored with his second Coach of the Year accolades.
Three Gators were named First-Team All-SEC while four earned second-team honors. Nelson, sophomore second baseman Aja Pacubla (Wildomar, Calif.) and sophomore outfielder Kelsey Bruder (Corona, Calif.) tallied first-team honors, while sophomore pitcher Stephanie Brombacher (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), senior first baseman Ali Gardiner (Waccabuc, N.Y.), sophomore shortstop Megan Bush (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) and junior outfield Francesca Enea (Woodland Hills, Calif.) were named to the second team. Freshman outfielders Alicia Sisco (Cooper City, Fla.) and Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) earned Freshman All-SEC accolades. Nelson, Gardiner, Paculba and Bruder were also named to the SEC All-Defensive team.
The Gators led the league with 15 honors. Alabama was second with 11. Last season, seven Gators earned 14 honors.
Nelson recorded a 19-1 record in the SEC and a league-leading 0.41 ERA. Her 11 shutouts and 151 strikeouts against conference opponents also were first. Both of her no-hitters came against SEC opponents, as she recorded the first two of her career against Ole Miss and Arkansas. The right-hander struck out at least 10 batters six times and did not allow a walk in four conference games. She has yet to give up a home run to any team this year, and she has allowed only nine extra-base hits, all doubles, to SEC opponents. Her 2008 21-1 record and 0.78 ERA led her to last season's Pitcher of the Year honors. She has been named to the All-SEC team three times in her career, including a second-team award in 2007 and first-team honors the past two seasons. She has also earned SEC All-Defensive team accolades the two years the award has been given, tallying a .975 fielding percentage with 36 assists this season in 2009.
Walton led the Gators to a 26-1 conference record for their second consecutive SEC regular-season title. UF has collected 53 conference wins and only two losses in the past two years. The 2009 Gators led the conference in 22 categories and have sat in the number-one spot in the nation the last consecutive nine weeks. Florida also posted the second undefeated conference road record in SEC history, tallying 13 wins on the road without a loss. This is the second straight SEC Coach of the Year award for Walton. In 2008, he led the Gators to a 27-1 conference record, a .964 winning percentage, the best in SEC history. UF's two one-loss seasons are the two of the only three in conference history, as well.
Paculba led the team with a .425 conference batting average and 37 hits. She also leads the Gators with seven doubles and three triples against SEC opponents. The second baseman was fifth in the league for batting average and on-base percentage (.510). Her 26 runs scored tied for second while her hits were fourth. Her .968 fielding percentage and stellar play at second base led to her second SEC All-Defensive team award. She earned All-SEC second-team honors her freshman year as well as SEC All-Freshman team accolades.
Bruder has put together impressive numbers in her year as a starter. She was second on the team with a .407 conference batting average and led the team with 32 RBI and nine home runs. She batted over .400 in six SEC series this season. She ranked third in slugging percentage (.815) and tied for second with 26 runs. Her RBI total was second and she led the league in homers. The outfielder recorded a perfect fielding percentage in the outfield and she recorded six assists in right. The honors are the first for the right fielder.
Brombacher put together her second 20-0 season for the second straight year. The sophomore's .143 opposing batters' average was the lowest in the conference and her 0.71 ERA was second. The righty is the only Florida pitcher in the history of the program to record her first 10 wins without a loss. She recorded a career-best 12 strikeouts in the win over Kentucky on April 11. Brombacher earned the SEC Pitcher of the Week honors for her no-hitter against Coastal Carolina on Feb. 13 and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team last year.
Gardiner batted .318 with 25 RBI this season in the SEC. She has tallied a total of 10 game-winning RBIs, including all three of the Tennessee series. Gardiner's .997 fielding percentage earned her her second SEC All-Defensive team award, as the first baseman made only one error all SEC season. This marked the second first-team honors, as she earned the accolades in 2008.
Bush batted .353 with 24 hits and 16 RBI in the SEC season. She has also hit seven home runs against conference opponents. The shortstop's .706 slugging percentage was fourth and her seven home runs were fifth. Bush earned conference all-freshman honors last season.
Enea recorded 16 hits and 16 runs in SEC play with eight home runs and 25 RBI. Her .657 slugging percentage ranked eighth, while her RBI tied for fourth and her homers tied for second.
Sisco batted .321 in her 17 SEC games this season. She recorded nine hits, including a double, and three RBI. She recorded a .441 on-base percentage in league play and tallied three putouts playing right field.
Moultrie recorded 13 runs and 14 hits with five doubles in her first conference season. She tallied her first home run against Auburn on April 1. The speedy outfielder swiped six bases and tallied 15 putouts.
The top-seeded Gators will take on eighth-seed Auburn in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday, May 7 at 5 p.m.
2009 SEC Softball Awards
First-Team All-SEC
P – Stacey Nelson, Florida
P – Kelsi Dunne, Alabama
IF – Molly Johnson, Kentucky
IF – Aja Paculba, Florida
IF – Alisa Goler, Georgia
IF – Kelley Montalvo, Alabama
OF – Brittany Rogers, Alabama
OF – Taylor Schlopy, Georgia
OF – Kelsey Bruder, Florida
OF – Kirsten Shortridge, LSU
C – Chelsea Bramlett, Mississippi State
DP/U – Charlotte Morgan, Alabama
Second-Team All-SEC
P – Stephanie Brombacher, Florida
P – Christie Hamilton, Georgia
IF – Ali Gardiner, Florida
IF – Tiffany Huff, Tennessee
IF – Megan Bush, Florida
IF – Brianna Hesson, Georgia
OF – Francesca Enea, Florida
OF – Ka'ili Smith, Mississippi State
OF – Jazz Jackson, LSU
OF – Myesha Finney, Aburn
C – Megan Yocke, Kentucky
DP/U – Lauren Grill, Ole Miss
Freshman All-SEC
P – Chanda Bell, Kentucky
P – Cat Hosfield, Tennessee
IF – Brittany Cervantes, Kentucky
IF – Jessica Spigner, Tennessee
IF – Juliana Santos, LSU
IF – Brittany Griffths, Arkansas
OF – Cassandra Reilly-Boccia, Alabama
OF – Ka'ili Smit, Mississippi State
OF – Alicia Sisco, Florida
OF – Corrine Doornberg, Ole Miss
OF – Michelle Moultrie, Florida
C – Kristyn Sandberg, Georgia
DP/U – Amanda Locke, Alabama
SEC All-Defensive
P – Stacey Nelson, Florida
C – Ashley Holcombe, Alabama
1B – Ali Gardiner, Florida
2B – Aja Paculba, Florida
SS – Kristin Schnake, Georgia
3B – Kelley Montalvo, Alabama
LF – Myesha Finney, Auburn; Adele Voigt, South Carolina
CF – Brittany Rogers, Alabama
RF – Kelsey Bruder, Florida
Player of the Year
Charlotte Morgan, Alabama
Pitcher of the Year
Stacey Nelson, Florida
Coach of the Year
Tim Walton, Florida
Freshman of the Year
Amanda Locke, Alabama
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Lilliam Hammond, Tennessee
