Michelle Moultrie Earns SEC Softball Player of the Year Accolades; Seven Gators on All-SEC Teams
Wednesday, May 9, 2012 | Softball
For the second year in a row, the Gator softball team took the league's Player of the Year honor, as senior centerfielder Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) added another accolade to her career tally with SEC Player of the Year honors. Moultrie, a 2012 First Team All-SEC pick in the outfield, led a UF team that placed seven Gators on All-SEC squads.
A day before the Gator softball team takes on LSU to kick off the 2012 SEC Tournament, Moultrie became the fourth UF player in school history to pick up Player of the Year honors, the third under head coach Tim Walton. Moultrie follows 2011 senior Kelsey Bruder, while Kristen Butler (2006) and Chelsey Sakkizie (1998) have also picked up the coveted accolade.
Moultrie is the fourth Gator student-athlete to pick up SEC Player of the Year honors through the 2011-12 academic year, as Marcin Cieslak and Elizabeth Beisel claimed both swimming Player of the Year honors for UF, while Lauren Embree was the Women's Tennis SEC Player of the Year.
Moultrie picked up All-SEC honors for the fourth-consecutive season after being a second-team pick in 2010 and 2011 – along with All-Defensive Team accolades last year – and an All-Freshman pick in 2009. The pitcher-catcher duo of sophomore ace Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) and junior catcher Kelsey Horton (Valrico, Fla.) teamed up for Second Team All-SEC honors, the second time for each on All-SEC squads, as Rogers was named to the second team, all-freshman and all-defensive teams as a freshman in 2011. Horton was named an All-Freshman selection her first year on campus in 2010.
Earlier this week, Horton was named to the SEC Community Service Team for her contributions to the Gainesville community, in addition to her work on the softball diamond.
A grand total of four UF freshmen were named to the SEC All-Freshman team, tying for the most in school history with the 2008 tally of four. First-year pitcher Alyssa Bache (Clearwater, Fla.), first baseman and righty Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.), third baseman Sami Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.) and left fielder Jess Damico (Gray Summit, Mo.) all picked up their first league accolades donning the Orange and Blue.
Florida, which picked up the No. 3 seed in the 2012 SEC Tournament, will rematch with LSU Thursday at 11 a.m. CT in the first game of the league tournament. The contest between the Gators and Tigers will be broadcast on ESPNU, with Cara Capuano, Michele Smith and Holly Rowe on the sideline.
UF and LSU last split a doubleheader in Gainesville April 24. Down, 1-0, heading to the seventh, UF junior Ensley Gammel knocked a solo shot to send the game into extras. Senior Michelle Moultrie then connected for a RBI double in the bottom of the eighth to walk the Gators off for their third extra-innings victory of the year. LSU claimed the nightcap, 1-0, for the split. Florida is 17-22 (.435) all-time in the SEC Tournament. Earlier in the week, junior Kelsey Horton was Florida's representative on the SEC Community Service Team, announced Monday. LSU holds the all-time advantage in the history of the series, with a 29-19 edge, including a 5-2 advantage on neutral ground.
2012 SEC SOFTBALL AWARDS
Player of the Year
Michelle Moultrie, Florida
Pitcher of the Year
Jackie Traina, Alabama
Coach of the Year
Pat Murphy, Alabama
Freshman of the Year
Devon Wallace, Arkansas
Co-Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Jennifer Fenton, Alabama; Brittany Mack, LSU
First Team All-SEC
P - Jackie Traina, Alabama
P - Ellen Renfroe, Tennessee
IF - Raven Chavanne, Tennessee
IF - Brittany Cervantes, Kentucky
IF - Kaila Hunt, Alabama
IF - Madison Shipman, Tennessee
OF - Michelle Moultrie, Florida
OF - Jennifer Fenton, Alabama
OF - Lauren Lackey, South Carolina
OF - Kat Dotson, Tennessee
C - Kristyn Sandberg, Georgia
DP/U - Devon Wallace, Arkansas
Second Team All-SEC
P - Rachele Fico, LSU
P - Hannah Rogers, Florida; Erin Arevalo, Georgia
IF - Lauren Gibson, Tennessee
IF - Lauren Guzman, Auburn
IF - Cassie Reilly-Boccia, Alabama
IF - Kara Dill, Kentucky
OF - Jaz Lunceford, Alabama
OF - Kayla Braud, Alabama
OF - RT Cantillo, Ole Miss
OF - Melissa Davin, Tennessee
C - Kendall Dawson, Alabama; Kelsey Horton, Florida
DP/U - Amanda Locke, Alabama
Freshman All-SEC
P - Kimmy Beasley, Arkansas
P - Alyssa Bache, Florida
IF - Lauren Haeger, Florida
IF - Paige Wilson, Georgia
IF - Sami Fagan, Florida
IF - Allison Brown, Ole Miss
OF - A.J. Andrews, LSU
OF - Jessica Damico, Florida
OF - Branndi Melero, Auburn
OF - Ashley Phillips, Mississippi State
C - Griffin Joiner, Kentucky
DP/U - Devon Wallace, Arkansas
SEC All-Defensive
P - Hannah Rogers, Florida
C - Kendall Dawson, Alabama
1B - Cassie Reilly-Boccia, Alabama
2B - Lauren Gibson, Tennessee
SS - Madison Shipman, Tennessee
3B - Brittany Cervantes, Kentucky
LF - Ashley Langoni, LSU
CF - Michelle Moultrie, Florida
RF - Jaz Lunceford, Alabama
