May 28, 2008

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.-- Thirteen Pac-10 softball players have been named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA NCAA Division I All-American Team. The Conference landed four players on the first team, one on the second and eight on the third. ARIZONA STATE led the way with five players on the team, followed closely by UCLA with four players and STANFORD and ARIZONA with two apiece.

Arizona State, the No. 6 seed in the WCWS, also has five All-Americans, including outfielder Kaitlin Cochran, who earlier this month was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year. Cochran hit .443 on the season with 41 RBI, 18 doubles and 11 home runs while leading the Sun Devils offense. Her teammate, Katie Burkhart, was the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year. Burkhart had a 30-4 record during the regular season and finished with 394 strikeouts and a 0.87 ERA over 232.1 innings pitched. Both Burkhart and Cochran earned first-team Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America honors this season for the Sun Devils.

Arizona State also placed Mindy Cowles on the second team and two players, Jackie Vasquez and Krista Donnenwirth, appeared on the third team. Cowles, a second baseman, was an at-large selection to the second team as she hit .348 this season, recording 49 RBI, 13 home runs and 10 doubles during the regular season. Vasquez, a second-team All-American outfielder, hit .418 during the regular season with three home runs, seven doubles and 21 RBI. Donnenwirth, a third baseman, was an at-large selection to the third team. She hit .369 with 14 home runs, 13 doubles and 64 RBI on the season.

UCLA, the No. 2 seed in the WCWS, had four All-America selections, led by first-team selections Anjelica Selden and GiOnna DiSalvatore. Selden, a pitcher, turned in a record of 22-3 in the circle during the regular season, striking out 249 batters with a 0.78 ERA over 170.2 innings in the circle. DiSalvatore hit .373 for the Bruins with 13 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 39 RBI on the season and was named to the All-America first team as an at-large selection.

The Bruins added a pair of third-team All-America selections in second baseman Amanda Kamekona and utility-pitcher Megan Langenfeld. Kamekona led the Bruins with 11 home runs during the regular season, hitting .327 with 14 doubles and eight stolen bases. Langenfeld hit .339 on the season with five home runs, six doubles and 33 RBI while pitching 53.2 innings to earn a 7-1 record with five saves and 57 strikeouts.

Stanford pitcher Missy Penna and outfielder Alissa Haber were named to the third-team as Haber garnered All-American status for the second straight year as she led the Cardinal with a .374 batting average and a .465 on-base percentage in 2008, one of two Pac-10 players with 75 or more hits. Penna, a junior, was honored for the first time in her career after she became just the eighth pitcher in Pac-10 history to strike out 400 batters in a single season. She finished her junior year with school single-season records in strikeouts (416) and wins (37), and became just the second Cardinal pitcher to pass the 900-K plateau for her career.

Arizona's Laine Roth and Britanny Lastrapes also earned third-team recognition as they look to continue their tremendous season in the WCWS. Heading into the series, Roth, a junior, has 15 home runs and 42 RBI while slugging a phenomenal .750, second on the Wildcats. Lastrapes has been the catalyst at the top of the order for the 'Cats, leading the team in hits (67), batting average (.372), runs (52) all while adding 40 RBI and seven home runs.

Louisville Slugger/NFCA NCAA Division I All-America Teams

Pos.	Name	School
First Team
P	Stacey Nelson	University of Florida
P	Anjelica Selden	UCLA
P	Angela Tincher	Virginia Tech
C	Chelsea Bramlett	Mississippi State University
1B	Alexandra Gardiner	University of Florida
2B	Samantha Findlay	University of Michigan
3B	Tonya Callahan	University of Tennessee
SS	Tammy Williams	Northwestern University
OF	Kaitlin Cochran	Arizona State University
OF	Brittany Rogers	University of Alabama
OF	Holly Tankersley	University of Louisiana at Lafayette
UT/P	Megan Gibson	Texas A&M University
UT/Non-P	Lauren Grill	University of Mississippi
At-Large/P	Katie Burkhart	Arizona State University
At-Large/SS	Courtney Bures	Mississippi State University
At-Large/1B	GiOnna DiSalvatore	UCLA
At-Large/3B	Kelley Montalvo	University of Alabama
At-Large/UT-P	Charlotte Morgan	University of Alabama
Second Team
P	Angel Shamblin University of Houston
P	Jordan Taylor	University of Michigan
P	Brooke Turner	Long Beach State University
C	Noelle Micka	University of Nevada
1B	Stephanie Fischer	Tennessee Tech University
2B	Aja Paculba	University of Florida
3B	Amber Patton	DePaul University
SS	Savannah Long	University of Oklahoma
OF	Alessandra Giampaolo	University of Michigan
OF	Lisa Kingsmore	Winthrop University
OF	Rhea Taylor	University of Missouri
UT/P	Danielle Spaulding	University of North Carolina
UT/Non-P	Kiki Munoz	California State University, Fullerton
At-Large/2B	Mindy Cowles	Arizona State University
At-Large/OF	Francesca Enea	University of Florida
At-Large/OF	Amber Flores	University of Oklahoma
At-Large/P	D.J. Mathis	University of Oklahoma
At-Large/P	Morgan Melloh	Fresno State University
Third Team
P	Kelsi Dunne	University of Alabama
P	Nikki Nemitz	University of Michigan
P	Missy Penna	Stanford University
C	Rachel Folden	Marshall University
1B	Laine Roth	University of Arizona
2B	Amanda Kamekona	UCLA
3B	Brette Reagan	Baylor University
SS	Jessica Valis	University of Houston
OF	Alissa Haber	Stanford University
OF	Jackie Vasquez	Arizona State University
OF	Laurie Wagner	University of Houston
UT/P	Megan Langenfeld	UCLA
UT/Non-P	Brittany Vanderink	Ohio State University
At-Large/3B	Krista Donnenwirth	Arizona State University
At-Large/3B	Jamie Hinshaw	Texas A&M University
At-Large/OF	Brittany Lastrapes	University of Arizona
At-Large/1B	Jamie Lettire	Princeton University
At-Large/C	Samantha Marder	Ohio State University
At-Large/OF	Kim Waleszonia	University of Florida