Michelle Moultrie and Brittany Schutte Named to USA Softball Women's National Team
Friday, June 17, 2011 | Softball
Two Gator softball players, junior Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) and sophomore Brittany Schutte (Fountain Valley, Calif.), were named to the 2011 USA Softball Women's National Team Friday by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball following a week-long training camp in Chula Vista, Calif. Moultrie and Schutte were among 18 athletes selected for the Women's National Team. Gators Megan Bush (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) and freshman Cheyenne Coyle (West Hills, Calif.) also represented the Gators at the National Team Selection Camp this past week.
“I am so grateful for the National Team selection committee for adding Michelle and Brittany to the U.S. National Team,” Florida head coach Tim Walton said. “These two young women are great people and will represent the stars and stripes with great class and great pride. I am so proud to have the opportunity to coach them at Florida and I look forward to seeing them represent the Gators in the Red, White and Blue!”
Moultrie, the Women's College World Series co-Most Outstanding Player, and Schutte, Florida's single-season home runs record-holder with 22 this season, led the Gators to one of their most successful seasons in school history this spring. The two All-Americans helped propel Florida to a fourth consecutive WCWS appearance – the first SEC team to accomplish the feat. Florida (56-13) played for a national championship for the second time in the last three years in the Championship Series. Moultrie turned in a WCWS tournament-high 13 hits and four home runs in UF's efforts, and Schutte knocked in a tournament-high eight RBI to earn WCWS All-Tournament Team honors as well.
Moultrie rallied for single-season school record batting clip and on-base percentages, registering a .443 batting average and .519 on-base mark. Moultrie additionally shattered the Florida single-season hits mark, with 101, and tallied a school-record 31 of 34 stolen bases. Through her junior year, Moultrie additionally holds the highest career batting clip in UF history (.384). Schutte knocked a single-season record 22 home runs and was one shy of the school record 49 walks with her 48 in 2011. As just a sophomore, Schutte ranks first in the career record books for slugging percentage (.751), highest on-base percentage (.460) and ranks fourth in career home runs (41).
The 2011 Women's National Team consists of six SEC Athletes, six Big 12 honorees, four Pac-10 representatives, two Big Ten athletes and one Sun Belt selection. Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Missouri all boast two student-athletes each on the roster.
Former Gator standout Stacey Nelson became the first Gator to play for the USA National Team after being named to the team in the summer of 2009. Nelson pitched in three tournaments for the Red, White and Blue, including the Canada Cup, the World Cup and the Japan Cup, winning three gold medals. Nelson was also an alternate for the 2010 USA National Team.
The 18-person roster, plus one alternate, will hit the road in less than a week for their first competition, a two-game exhibition series in Plant City, Fla., on Saturday, June 25. After the matchup in Florida, the team will travel to Salem, Va., for another exhibition series on June 29. The final tune-up before International play will be in Bowie, Md., on July 1. All exhibition games will be a doubleheader format against the USA Softball Junior Women's National Team. Tickets for these three exhibition series can still be purchased by logging onto www.usasoftball.com
From July 9-17, 12 of the 18 players will play in their first international tournament at the Canadian Open Fast Pitch International Championship in Surrey, B.C., before returning home for the World Cup of Softball VI July 21-25 in Oklahoma City. Tickets are still available for the World Cup at www.softballoutlet.com.
The USA Softball Women's National Team will seek its ninth Pan American Games title Oct. 17-23, in Guadalajara, Mexico, for the final competition of 2011. With six consecutive titles, USA Softball will again be a top contender during the XVI Pan American Games.
Ken Eriksen (Tampa, Fla./Head Coach at USF) will lead the National Team and will be assisted by Olympic Gold Medalists Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz./Head Coach at Cal State Northridge) and Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif./Assistant Coach at San Diego State), who retired their cleats following the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Mike White (Eugene, Ore./Head Coach at the University of Oregon) is also making his first appearance with the team following a successful career as a USA Softball athlete in the Men's Fast Pitch National Team Program.
To keep up with Moultrie, Schutte and the Women's National Team throughout the summer and fall, visit www.GatorZone.com/softball and www.usasoftball.com for updates.
2011 USA Softball Women's National Team
Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif./California)
Whitney Canion (Aledo, Texas/Baylor)
Kaitlin Cochran (Yorba Linda, Calif./Arizona State)
Lauren Gibson (Pasadena, Md./Tennessee)
Kelly Grieve (Asheville, N.C./Tennessee)
Taylor Hoagland (Flower Mound, Texas/Texas)
Ashley Holcombe (Fayetteville, Ga./Alabama)
Molly Johnson (Tucson, Ariz./Kentucky)
Stacy Johnson (Reno, Nev./Iowa)
Megan Langenfeld (Bakersfield, Calif./UCLA)
Jenae Leles (Sacramento, Calif./Arizona)
Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla./Florida)
Christine Orgeron (New Orleans, La./ULL)
Keilani Ricketts (San Jose, Calif./Oklahoma)
Brittany Schutte (Fountain Valley, Calif./Florida)
Jordan Taylor (Valencia, Calif./Michigan)
Rhea Taylor (Buford, Ga./Missouri)
Chelsea Thomas (Pleasantville, Iowa/Missouri)
Alternate - Jessica Shults (Valencia, Calif./Oklahoma)
