Florida senior right-hander Stacey Nelson is one of three finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year presented by the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA).
Arizona State senior Kaitlin Cochran and Washington junior pitcher Danielle Lawrie are the other finalists. The winner will be announced May 26 at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Nelson is probably the biggest reason why coach Tim Walton’s Gators are winners of a season-high 24 games (and 47 of their last 48 games) and ranked No. 1 with their 58-3 record going into their NCAA Super Regional Saturday and Sunday against California at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Game time Saturday is 8 p.m. and the game will be televised by ESPN. Game Two is at 6 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2 with a third game, if necessary, to follow.
This season, the 5-11 philosophy major from Los Alamitos, Calif., has a 37-3 record in 43 games (35 starts) with a nation-leading 0.43 earned-run average, 30 complete games, 19 shutouts, 3 saves and two no-hitters. She has allowed 26 runs, only 15 of them earned, in 243.1 innings with 302 strikeouts, 45 walks and 17 hit batters. Opponents have just 134 hits, including 20 doubles and one home run, in 850 at-bats against Nelson, a .158 batting average.
Nelson continues to move up in the NCAA record book, as she has tallied 131 wins in her career, seventh-best all time. She is second in Southeastern Conference history, only behind Tennessee’s Monica Abbott (189). She leads the SEC in ERA, strikeouts, wins, fewest earned runs and fewest home runs allowed.
Nelson is the first Gator to surpass 1,000 career strikeouts and sits sixth in the SEC with 1,061. She holds 19 single-season and career pitching records at Florida, including single-season shutouts (19, 2009) and career ERA (0.97).
In 2008, she recorded a career-high 16 strikeouts in a 10-inning contest against Long Beach State. This season, she has a season-high 14 Ks in the regional win over Texas A&M in just seven innings.
This award is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. The list of past winners includes UCLA’s Stacey Nuveman, Florida State’s Jessica Vander Linden, three-time winner Texas pitcher Cat Osterman, Tennessee’s Monica Abbott and Virginia Tech’s Angela Tincher.
Cochran thus far this season and throughout her career has led the nation in nearly every offensive category at one point in theseason. The Pac-10 Player of Year is hitting .424 on the season with 65 runs scored. She has drawn an incredible 59 walks with 59 RBI.
Lawrie is the Pac-10 leader in wins, ERA, strikeouts and shutouts, Lawrie is also among the nation’s top three in all four categories. She has thrown two no-hitters this season, against UCLA and Arizona to become the first pitcher in NCAA history to no-hit both in a career, let alone a season.
A member of the Canadian Olympic team, Lawrie set a school record in the NCAA Regional Championship deciding game against No. 20 UMass, striking out 24 batters in a 6-1, 15-inning win. She has 454 strikeouts this season.
Among the team’s she has shutout are No. 1 Florida, No. 2 UCLA, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Arizona, No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Georgia and No. 11 Ohio State.
NCAA DIVISION I SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
SUPER REGIONALS
GAINESVILLE/FLORIDA
At Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium
Saturday, May 23
California (38-18) at (1) Florida (58-3), 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday, May 24
California at (1) Florida, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
California at (1) Florida, 8 p.m., if necessary (ESPN)
PALO ALTO, CALIF./STANFORD
At Smith Family Stadium
Thursday, May 21
(9) Arizona (44-14) at (8) Stanford (47-9), 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Friday, May 22
(9) Arizona at (8) Stanford, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
(9) Arizona at (8) Stanford, 11 p.m., if necessary (ESPN2)
ANN ARBOR/MICHIGAN
At Wilpon Softball Complex/Alumni Field
Friday, May 22
Baylor (40-20) at (5) Michigan (44-10), 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, May 23
Baylor at (5) Michigan, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Baylor at (5) Michigan, 4:30 p.m., if necessary (ESPN)
TUSCALOOSA/ALABAMA
At Alabama Softball Complex
Friday, May 22
Jacksonville State (42-15) at (4) Alabama (50-9), 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Saturday, May 23
Jacksonville State at (4) Alabama, Noon (ESPN)
Jacksonville State at (4) Alabama, 2 p.m., if necessary (ESPN)
ATLANTA/GEORGIA TECH
At Shirley Clements Mewborn Field
Saturday, May 23
(3) Washington (44-11) at (14) Georgia Tech (46-13), Noon (ESPN)
Sunday, May 24
(3) Washington at (14) Georgia Tech, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
(3) Washington at (14) Georgia Tech, 3:30 p.m., if necessary (ESPN)
ATHENS/GEORGIA
At UGA Softball Stadium
Thursday, May 21
(11) Ohio State (47-9) at (6) Georgia (42-10), 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Friday, May 22
(11) Ohio State at (6) Georgia, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
(11) Ohio State at (6) Georgia, 6:30 p.m., if necessary, (ESPN2)
TEMPE/ARIZONA STATE
At Farrington Stadium
Friday, May 22
North Dakota State (38-18) at (10) Arizona State (44-17), 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, May 23
North Dakota State at (10) Arizona State, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
North Dakota State at (10) Arizona State, if necessary, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
LOS ANGELES/UCLA
At Easton Stadium
Saturday, May 23
Missouri (48-9) at (2) UCLA (44-9), 9:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Sunday, May 24
Missouri at (2) UCLA, 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Missouri at (2) UCLA, 5:30 p.m., if necessary (ESPNU)
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
At Oklahoma City, May 28-June 3
Seedings and matchups to be decided