Softball Named Easton Team of the Year While Five Players Garner All-American Honors
Thursday, June 4, 2009 | Softball
No. 1/1 University of Florida was named Team of the Year by Easton Sports, Inc. Five Gators also earned Easton first-team All-American honors, the most from a single school.
Sophomores Stephanie Brombacher (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), Kelsey Bruder (Corona, Calif.) and Aja Paculba (Wildomar, Calif.) along with junior Francesca Enea (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and senior Stacey Nelson (Los Alamitos, Calif.) were all part of the first-team roster.
The 2009 Gators set 39 school records and made the program's first-ever appearance in the Women's College World Series Championship Series. Their .323 batting average was tops in Florida record books and seventh in Southeastern Conference history. Their .543 slugging percentage and .423 on-base percentage ranked third all-time in the SEC while their 86 home runs broke the conference record. The 63-5 record is the second-best in Florida history, only to the 2008's NCAA-record breaking 70-5 season.
Brombacher holds a 42-0 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 registered the second lowest ERA (0.84) in the country and the second lowest opponent batting average (.161) in the league. 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 NFCA/Louisville Slugger All-American second-team honors as well as SEC Pitcher of the Week accolades once. This marked the first Easton All-American award for the sophomore.
Bruder has come alive this season, playing her first year in the outfield, mainly in right. She tied for the team lead in slugging percentage (.713), while she led the Gators in doubles (17), total bases (139) and sacrifice flies (5). She 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 tied for second on the team with 16 homers and was second with 11 game-winning RBI, eight game-winning runs, and 22 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. Both this and her NFCA/Louisville Slugger second-team award were the first in her career.
Enea, a two-time All-American, led the team in home runs (18), RBI (71), and on-base percentage (.494). The left fielder broke UF's single-season RBI record while claiming the top spot in the record books for career RBI (157) and home runs (41). She hit three grand slams this season and a team-high 14 game-winning RBI. She was named to the All-SEC second team, earned Player of the Week honors twice and was a NFCA/Louisville Slugger second-team All-American. The Easton award is her second.
This marked the third time Nelson both Easton and NFCA/Louisville Slugger honors, and third year she earned Easton first-team honors. The two-time SEC Pitcher of the Year held the lowest ERA (.061) in the country and collected the most shutouts (22). The right-hander holds 24 records at Florida and is sixth in NCAA history for 136 career wins. She was 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 fourth on the SEC's all-time list with 1,116.
Paculba became the first freshman in program history earn All-American honors in 2008. She repeated as a Easton All-American this season as she leads the team in hits (75), runs (69) 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 (102) on the team. She tallied 21 game-winning runs and 22 multi-hit games, the most on the team.
2009 Easton First Team All-American
Brandice Balschmiter, University of Massachusetts, Senior
Stephanie Brombacher, University of Florida, Sophomore
Kelsey Bruder, University of Florida, Sophomore
Kelsi Dunne, University of Alabama, Sophomore
Francesca Enea, University of Florida, Junior
Alisa Goler, University of Georgia, Sophomore
Cheyenne Jenks, Florida Gulf Coast University, Senior
Megan Langenfeld, University of California, Los Angeles, Junior
Charlotte Morgan, University of Alabama, Junior
Stacey Nelson, University of Florida, Senior
Carly Normandin, University of Massachusetts, Junior
Aja Paculba, University of Florida, Sophomore
Brittany Rogers, University of Alabama, Senior
Taylor Scholpy, University of Georgia, Sophomore
Katie Schroeder, University of California, Los Angeles, Sophomore
2009 Easton Second Team All-American
Valerie Arioto, University of California, Berkeley, Sophomore
Sharon Bell, St. Gregory's University, Senior
Tory Ferreira, California Baptist University, Freshman
Amanda Kamekona, University of California, Los Angeles, Senior
Beth Lawson, University of Alabama-Huntsville, Junior
Caitlin Lee, University of Alabama-Huntsville, Sophomore
Courtney McGuire, North Georgia College, Junior
Bianca Mejia, Long Island University, Sophomore
Tara Oltman, Creighton, Junior
Sarah Phillips, North Georgia College, Sophomore
Kristina Prater, University of Alabama-Huntsville, Junior
Jessica Purcell, BYU, Sophomore
Kirsten Shortridge, Louisiana State University, Junior
Sage Woodham, University of Alabama-Huntsville, Senior
Whitney Wyly, University of Texas-Tyler, Sophomore
2009 Easton Third Team All-American
Ashley Boyd, California Baptist University, Junior
Lauren Brenneman, Salisbury University, Junior
Anna Cahn, Cal Poly, Sophomore
Strohm Fouty, Southern Oregon University, Senior
Whitney Haller, Georgia Tech, Senior
Ryanne Hill, North Carolina A & T State University, Sophomore
Loryn Johnson, University of Texas, Junior
Nikki Lowe, California Baptist University, Senior
Meaghan O'Gara, Salisbury University, Senior
Cortney Reynaga, St. Gregory's University, Sophomore
Megan Roo Richardson, University of Texas-Tyler, Senior
April Setterlund, Boston University, Sophomore
Kaila Shull, University of California, Los Angeles, Junior
Kelly Waskewicz, Salisbury University, Junior
Jen Yee, Georgia Tech, Junior
