Four Alabama Softball Players Receive All-SEC Honors
5/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
 |
|
With the regular season complete, and post season awards beginning to trickle in, the No. 15 ranked (USA Today/NFCA) University of Alabama softball team can now set its sites on the 2002 Southeastern Conference tournament and beyond.
The Crimson Tide (44-17, 22-8 in the SEC) was honored with four of its players being named All-SEC. Shelley Laird was named 1st Team All-SEC pitcher while Jackie McClain captured 1st Team All-SEC Infield. Lacy Prejean was named 2nd Team All-SEC catcher and Jackie Wilkins 2nd Team All-SEC outfielder.
For Laird, it is her fourth consecutive All-SEC award and third straight time being named to the first team. Prejean makes her third appearance as a 2nd Team All-SEC member while McClain is a two-time 1st Team All-SEC selection. Wilkins, who is a freshman, is making her first appearance as an All-SEC player.
McClain leads the Crimson Tide in home runs (7) and RBI (37), however it is freshman Ashley Courtney who has been the most pleasant surprise this season for Alabama as she leads the team with a .401 average, which includes a .402 average in SEC play this season ranking her fifth in the SEC and highest among freshmen.
Laird is the Tide's leader in the circle posting a 24-10 record along with a 1.60 ERA while striking out 274 batters in 223.1 innings.
The four All-SEC awards raises the Alabama total to 27 All-SEC honors, 20 of which have come under the tutelage of Head Coach Patrick Murphy, who took over in 1999.
Laird, McClain, Prejean, Wilkins and the Tide will open the 2002 SEC Tournament as the No. 3 seed for the fourth consecutive season playing the 12:00 p.m. game against the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks.
Alabama defeated Arkansas in a three-game series earlier in the season, dropping the first game 2-0, before coming back and winning the final two games 5-4 and 5-1.
McClain and Courtney led the Tide against Arkansas hitting .600 and .500 respectively while Laird registered a 0.58 ERA in 12.0 innings pitched.
Alabama has a 15-8 record against the tournament field, including an impressive 4-0 record against Mississippi State. However, the Tide has posted an 8-9 record in past SEC Tournaments which includes 1998's 4-1 record en route to the tournament championship.
Last year, Alabama won their tournament opener a 2-0 win over Arkansas, before being bounced behind a 2-0, nine-inning loss to South Carolina and a 5-3 upset at the hands of Auburn.
Alabama's next win will be a milestone for the program as it will mark coach Murphy's 200th career win as the skipper of the team. Laird will also be looking to move her way up various NCAA historical lists. She currently ranks eighth in NCAA history in wins with 115 needing two victories for seventh place.
And while the Tide will not be able to reach the 400-game mark in the history of the program they can get close as they currently sit at 392 games, hopefully reaching the mark in the 2002 NCAA Regional Championships.
The Crimson Tide will open the tournament with a 12:00 p.m. (ET) game against Arkansas, followed by No. 2 seed South Carolina and No. 7 seed Mississippi State at 2:00 p.m. The evening session will feature No. 4 seed Georgia and No. 5 Auburn at 6:00 p.m. and top-seeded LSU will close out the day against No. 8 seed Florida at 8:00 p.m.
Depending on their result with Arkansas, the Tide will play either South Carolina or Mississippi State in the second round on Friday.
