VanBrakle and Rogers Named All-Americans
5/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Crimson Tide senior pitcher Stephanie VanBrakle and freshman outfielder Brittany Rogers were named NFCA/Louisville Slugger All-Americans as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association this afternoon.
VanBrakle, a second-team at-large selection, led the Crimson Tide to its fourth appearance in the Women’s College World Series this season from the circle, posting a 28-5 record with a 1.03 ERA. She is currently four strikeouts shy of breaking the school record for strikeouts in a season (341), a record she set last season. Earlier this year, she recorded the first perfect game in Crimson Tide softball history while also throwing three no-hitters this season. VanBrakle was named an NFCA All-American last season, making her a two-time award winner
Rogers, a third-team outfield selection, leads the Crimson Tide in hitting with a .434 average, 60 runs scored and 38 stolen bases. She joins Kelly Kretschman (1998), Jackie McClain (2001) and Ashley Courtney (2002) as the only players in Alabama softball history to be named NFCA All-Americans in their first season.
The Crimson Tide opens its 2006 World Series action on Thursday taking on the fourth-seeded Northwestern Wildcats at 6:06 p.m. CT in a game televised live on ESPN2.
Alabama and Northwestern have met once before, with the Crimson Tide claiming a 5-1 victory over the Wildcats at the 2004 Palm Springs Classic.
While Alabama is making its fourth appearance at the WCWS, the team is sporting a new look with a bunch of new faces. Because of that, head coach Patrick Murphy has been teaching his new charges to soak up the whole experience.
“It goes by so fast. We’ve got eight new kids, but Steph (VanBrakle) and the other two seniors have done a great job all week of teaching them to enjoy the moment and take advantage of every opportunity,” said Murphy. “The biggest part is to not get caught up in the 9,000 people. We talked the other day in a team meeting how it’s 43 feet (from the pitching rubber to home plate), home plate’s the same; we talked about (the movie) Hoosiers and trying not to get lost in all the excitement.”
The match-up marks the first time that Alabama has faced a Big 10 team at the Women’s College World Series.
