Alabama Softball Places Six on All-SEC Teams
5/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Auburn, Ala. ?? Six University of Alabama softball players were named to the All-SEC first and second teams on Wednesday at the SEC Softball banquet held at the Auburn University Hotel and Dixon Conference Center.
For the second straight season and fourth time overall the Tide received six selections on the list. Alabama also had six All-SEC players in 2000 and 2001. Brittany Rogers, Jordan Praytor, Lauren Parker, Dani Woods, Chrissy Owens and Charlotte Morgan were all named to the All-SEC teams for 2007.
Three players were named to the All-SEC first team. Brittany Rogers and Jordan Praytor were first team choices for the second straight season while newcomer Lauren Parker was also a first team pick.
Rogers, a sophomore outfielder from Dacula, Ga., leads the SEC with 58 runs scored and is ranked third in the conference with a .413 batting avg. She is also fifth with 76 hits and tied for second with 44 stolen bases. Her 44 steals is a single season school record. Rogers has hit both inside and outside the park home runs from the left and right side of the plate this season. In SEC play only she led the league in runs (23) and stolen bases (20) while finishing second in hits (38) and third with a .388 avg.
Praytor, a junior designated player from Vancouver, Wash., has come on strong in the last few weeks of the season, batting .500 over the last 12 games. She is ranked eighth in both on-base percentage (.465) and stolen bases (28) and is tied for 10th with 25 walks. In SEC games only, she was fifth in the conference with five home runs, 18 RBI and 12 stolen bases. She is batting .369 on the year with six home runs and 40 RBI.
Praytor was also a nominee for Scholar Athlete of the Year with a 3.68 GPA and a double major in biology and Spanish. She is in the University Honors Program and has a 4.0 GPA in her Spanish major. She has made the Dean's list every semester and had a 4.0 GPA in both the fall and spring semesters of 2006. She is also the committee chairperson for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Parker, a sophomore transfer from Baylor University and native of Port Neches, Texas, has been one of the top players in the conference in 2007. One of 25 finalists for USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year, the second baseman ranks in the top-10 in nine offensive categories. She is second in the league with a .463 avg., .776 slugging pct. and .516 on-base pct. She also leads the team with 44 RBI to go with nine home runs, 46 runs scored, 11 doubles and 15 stolen bases. In SEC games only, she ranks in the top five in eight categories. She is second in both avg. (.453) and OBP (.506), third in slugging pct. (.653) and runs (21), fourth in hits (34) and fifth with six doubles.
Three other players were named to the All-SEC second team. Dani Woods received her second straight all-conference selection while Chrissy Owens and Charlotte Morgan were chosen for the first time.
Woods, a junior outfielder from Cockeysville, Md., has been one of the Tide's top hitters in conference play. She ranks in the top five of seven different categories in SEC play. She led the league with a .667 slugging pct. She finished third in both OBP (.494) and RBI (21), fourth with 14 walks and fifth in batting avg. (.381), home runs (5) and sacrifices (5). For the season Woods is batting .342 with seven home runs and 42 RBI.
Owens, a junior pitcher from Miami, Fla., moved in to the Tide's No. 1 pitching role this season and has compiled a 23-3 record and 1.18 ERA to earn recognition as one of 25 finalists for the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year. She only allowed two home runs all season with one in SEC games, the fewest of any pitcher in the SEC. She is fourth in the league in ERA and victories and fifth with 26 earned runs allowed. She has 133 strikeouts in 154 1/3 innings this season.
Morgan, a freshman first baseman from Moreno Valley, Calif., was the top power hitter in conference play in her first season of collegiate softball. She led all players with seven home runs and 28 RBI. She hit a home run in seven of the 10 SEC series. She also ranked third with 52 total bases and was fifth in batting avg. (.378), slugging pct. (.642) and runs scored (20). Her nine home runs and .616 slugging pct. on the season ranked eighth overall while her .461 OBP was ninth in the SEC. She batted .370 with 34 runs and 40 RBI and was also one of the toughest players to strike out, ranking 24th in the nation with only one strikeout every 19.7 at bats.
In addition to earned All-SEC second team recognition, Morgan was picked to the Freshman All-SEC squad. She became the sixth Tide player named to the team in three seasons.
The Crimson Tide will start the SEC Tournament as the No. 3 seed and will face sixth-seeded Georgia in the first round at 11 a.m. on Thursday at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn, Ala.
2007 All-SEC Teams and Honors
Scholar Athlete: Lindsay Schutzler, Tennessee
Pitcher of the Year: Monica Abbott, Tennessee
Player of the Year: India Chiles, Tennessee
Freshman of the Year: Chelsea Bramlett, Mississippi State
Coaches of the Year: Ralph and Karen Weekly, Tennessee
First-Team All-SEC:
Monica Abbott ?? Pitcher, Tennessee
Dani Hofer ?? Pitcher, LSU
Shannon Doepking ?? Catcher, Tennessee
Tonya Callahan ?? Infield, Tennessee
Lauren Parker ?? Infield, Alabama
Courtney Bures ?? Infield, Mississippi State
Kim Waleszonia ?? Infield, Florida
India Chiles ?? Outfield, Tennessee
Lindsay Schutzler ?? Outfield, Tennessee
Brittany Rogers ?? Outfield, Alabama
Kellie Middleton ?? Outfield, Georgia
Jordan Praytor ?? Designated/Utililty Player, Alabama
Second-Team All-SEC:
Chrissy Owens ?? Pitcher, Alabama
Stacey Nelson ?? Pitcher, Florida
Killian Roessner ?? Catcher, LSU
Charlotte Morgan ?? Infield, Alabama
Brooke Marnitz ?? Infield, Kentucky
Ashley Acuri ?? Infield, Auburn
Melissa Zick ?? Infield, Florida
Leslie Klein - Outfield, LSU
Dani Woods ?? Outfield, Alabama
Hayle Guess ?? Outfield, Mississippi State
Jazz Jackson ?? Outfield, LSU
Chelsea Bramlett ?? Designated/Utility Player, Mississippi State
All-Freshman Team:
Charlotte Morgan, Alabama
Anna Thompson, Auburn
Jazz Jackson, LSU
Chelsea Bramlett, Mississippi State
Jessica Bachkora, Arkansas
Lauren Grill, Ole Miss
Tiffany Huff, Tennessee
Molly Johnson, Kentucky
Natalie Smith, Kentucky
Rachel Mitchell, LSU
Miranda Dixon, Arkansas
Francesca Enea, Florida
Ashley Dowdy, Ole Miss
Jessie Bailey, Mississippi State
