Five Softball Players Named to All-Region Team
Thursday, May 20, 2010 | Softball
Five University of Florida softball players were named to the 2010 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA)/Louisville Slugger Division I All-Southeast Region team, including four first-team selections.
Juniors Stephanie Brombacher (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Megan Bush (Anaheim Hills, Calif.), senior Francesca Enea (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and freshman Brittany Schutte (Fountain Valley, Calif.) were named to the first team and junior Aja Paculba (Wildomar, Calif.) was named to the second team.
“I am really happy for all five players who made the All-Region team,” Head coach Tim Walton said. “Although these are individual awards, they speak volumes for our team. The better the team, the more individual awards received. I am looking forward to these five, and the rest of our team, raise their level of play for the 2010 NCAA Tournament.”
The all-region teams were chosen by NFCA member coaches from each region, and all the honorees will now be eligible for selection to the NFCA/Louisville Slugger All-America first, second or third teams.
Fifteen student-athletes from the Southeastern Conference were named to the All-Southeast Region team. UF led the way for all teams with four first-team selections while Tennessee also named five to the two teams. Georgia earned three honors and Kentucky two.
This is Brombacher's second time named to the All-Region team as she earned the honor last season and was named a second-team All-American. The right-hander leads the SEC with 29 wins and is fourth with 195 strikeouts. She was named to the All-SEC First Team last week. her 71 career wins ranked second in UF record books.
Bush was named to the All-Region team last season as well. The utility player has spent time at first base and shortstop this season and is second on the team with a .369 batting average and a .766 slugging percentage. She was named to the 2010 All-SEC First Team and the SEC All-Tournament team as she belted two homers in the Gators' two tournament games, bringing her season total to 14, tied for fourth in the league.
Enea, a two-time All-American, was also named to the SEC First Team last week. The left fielder broke the SEC all-time home run record with her 61st career bomb the last game of the regular season and ranks third with 220 RBIs. Her 20 homers this season is a UF single-season record and she leads the league in slugging percentage (.841).
Schutte, a true utility player who has seen time at first base, catcher, outfield and designated player, broke Florida's freshman record with 14 home runs and 48 RBIs. She is tied for fourth in the league for home runs, while ranking eighth in slugging percentage (.713) and RBIs. She was named to the SEC All-Freshman team and was Florida's second freshman to earn All-Southeast Region honors, as Paculba did so in her freshman campaign.
Paculba, the two-time All-American second baseman, broke UF's career runs scored record halfway through the 2010 season as she has tallied 183 in her three years in the Orange and Blue. She was named to the All-SEC Second Team the SEC All-Defensive Team. She currently holds Florida records for career batting average (.345) and on-base percentage (.464).
The NFCA Division I All-American teams will be announced on June 2.
The fourth-seeded Gators host an NCAA Regional starting Friday, May 21 as FIU plays UCF at 3:30 p.m. (ET) and Florida takes on Bethune-Cookman at 6 p.m. The winner of the double-elimination tournament will play the winner of the Amherst Regional next weekend. All games of the Gainesville Regional will be streamed on www.ncaa.com and Florida games will be broadcast on WYGC-FM 105 The Games (104.9)
2010 NFCA/Louisville Slugger All-Southeast Region Teams
| First Team | ||
| P | Stephanie Brombacher | University of Florida |
| P | Whitney Kiihni | Lipscomb University |
| C | Tiffany Huff | University of Tennessee |
| 1B | Megan Bush | University of Florida |
| 2B | Jen Yee | Georgia Tech |
| 3B | Alisa Goler | University of Georgia |
| SS | Molly Johnson | University of Kentucky |
| UT/P | Danielle Spaulding | University of North Carolina |
| UT/DP | Brittany Schutte | University of Florida |
| OF | Kat Dotson | University of Tennessee |
| OF | Francesca Enea | University of Florida |
| OF | Taylor Schlopy | University of Georgia |
| Second Team | ||
| P | Sarah Hamilton | Florida State University |
| P | Ivy Renfro | University of Tennessee |
| C | Megan Yocke | University of Kentucky |
| 1B | Kristine Priebe | Georgia Tech |
| 2B | Aja Paculba | University of Florida |
| 3B | Jessica Spigner | University of Tennessee |
| SS | Kelsi Weisman | Georgia Tech |
| UT/P | Hope Rush | Georgia Tech |
| UT/DP | Brook Short | Longwood University |
| OF | Raven Chavanne | University of Tennessee |
| OF | Megan Wiggins | University of Georgia |
| OF | Carly Winn | Florida State University |
