OKLAHOMA CITY – Five players from the No. 1 Florida Gators softball team were named National Fastpitch Coaches Association/Louisville Slugger All-Americans Wednesday on the eve of the Women’s College World Series opening day.
Senior right-handed pitcher Stacey Nelson earned first-team honors while sophomore right-hander Stephanie Brombacher, sophomore outfielder Kelsey Bruder, sophomore second baseman Aja Paculba and junior Francesca Enea all earned second-team honors.
It’s the second straight season that Florida has received five All-America honors. Florida also was the only school to have five All-Americans. The five All-Americans brings to 13 the number of All-America honors this year.
Nelson (39-3, 0.41 ERA and 321 strikeouts) earlier this week received the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award for her accomplishments on the field, in the classroom and in the community. It’s the third All-America honor given to Nelson by the NCFA and Louisville Slugger. She also had two no-hitters this season
Brombacher, who is 41-0 in two seasons, is 21-0 with a 0.77 ERA, second only to Nelson in the country. She also threw a no-hitter this season.
Bruder leads the team in slugging percentage (.731), doubles (16), total bases (133) and sacrifice flies (5). She has hit three grand slams. She is second on the team with 15 homers, 11 game-winning RBI, eight game-winning runs, 18 multi-hit games and 21 multi-RBI games.
Enea, now a two-time All-American, leads the team in home runs (17), RBI (69), walks (45) and on-base percentage (.720). The left fielder broke Florida’s single-season RBI record while claiming the top spot in the record books for career RBI (155) and home runs (40). She has hit three grand slams this season and had a team-high 13 game-winning RBI.
Paculba became the first freshman in program history to earn All-American honors in 2008. She repeats this season as she leads the team in hits (73), runs (67) and stolen bases (27). This season, she broke the single-season runs scored and stolen bases records. She has 21 game-winning runs and 22 multi-hit games, the most on the team.
NCAA DIVISION I SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
WOMEN’S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
At ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Double elimination
BRACKET ONE
Thursday, May 28
Game 1: (6) Georgia (44-10) vs. (3) Washington (46-11), 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 2: (10) Arizona State (46-17) vs. Missouri (50-10), 3 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Friday, May 29
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Saturday, May 30
Game 7: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, Noon ET (ESPN2)
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 5 loser, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Sunday, May 31
Game 11: Game 5 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 11 loser (if necessary), 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
BRACKET TWO
Thursday, May 28
Game 3: (5) Michigan (46-10) vs. (4) Alabama (52-9), 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 4: (9) Arizona (46-15) vs. (1) Florida (60-3), 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Friday, May 29
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Saturday, May 30
Game 8: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Sunday, May 31
Game 12: Game 6 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Game 14: Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser (if necessary), 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Best-of-three
Monday, June 1
Game 1: Bracket One winner vs. Bracket Two winner, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Tuesday, June 2
Game 2: Bracket One winner vs. Bracket Two winner, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Wednesday, June 3
Game 3: Bracket One winner vs. Bracket Two winner (if necessary), 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2)