STARKSVILLE, Miss. — The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced the 2011 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I All-Region Teams Thursday. University of Hawai‘i softball players Jessica Iwata and Stephanie Ricketts were both selected to the All-West Region second team,
STARKSVILLE, Miss. — The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced the 2011 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I All-Region Teams Thursday. University of Hawai‘i softball players Jessica Iwata and Stephanie Ricketts were both selected to the All-West Region second team, states a release from the UH athletic department.
Two-time WAC Pitcher of the Year, Ricketts, was the cornerstone of the UH softball team this season, posting a 22-11 record. Statistically, she had her best season as a Rainbow Wahine, tallying career-best totals including a 1.58 ERA, 30 complete games, nine shutouts and 250 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .193 batting average.
This season, Ricketts broke former Hawai’i All-American Brooke Wilkins’ 16-year old career strikeout record with 589 Ks and became just the second Rainbow Wahine to win at least 20 games in three consecutive seasons. For her career, Ricketts is now second in Hawai‘i history with 74 wins; third in appearances (127) and games started (107); fourth in innings pitched (712.1) and fifth in shutouts (23). This is the third time in as many years that the pitcher from San Jose, Calif. has earned All-West Region honors. Ricketts earned first-team honors as a freshman and second-team honors as a sophomore and junior.
Iwata, UH’s shortstop and two-time WAC Player of the Year, led the Rainbow Wahine with another strong year at the plate. She tallied a team-high .355 batting average (60 for 169), a .663 slugging percentage and a .447 on-base percentage. Iwata also led the ‘Bows in runs scored (43), hits (60), home runs (15), and RBIs (44). She finished the season on a nine-game hitting streak and accumulated more multiple-hit games (16) and multiple-RBI games (13) than any other Rainbow Wahine this season. It is the second straight season that the sophomore from Lihu’e, Kaua’i has been voted to the West Region second team.
In the West Region, the only WAC player to be selected to the first team was New Mexico State first baseman Hoku Nohara. Fellow Aggie Tiare Jennings was also selected to the second team as an outfielder, along with utility/pitcher Michelle Moses from Fresno State.
Nevada second baseman Karley Hopkins and Boise State outfielder Devon Bridges were named to the Pacific Region’s second team.
The all-region teams are chosen by NFCA member coaches from each of the 10 regions on their regular-season statistics. Each of the honorees are now eligible for selection to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America first, second or third teams. A total of 258 players from 126 different teams comprise this year’s regional teams.
The NFCA Division I All-America teams will be announced at 4 p.m. CDT (11 a.m. HT) on Wednesday, June 1.
