Softball Boasts Four NFCA All-Americans
5/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY - For the fourth time in the last five years, four Alabama players have been named NFCA All-Americans, announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Wednesday. Haylie McCleney was named to the First Team, Alexis Osorio was named to the Second Team while Demi Turner and Marisa Runyon were named to the Third Team.
The four All-Americans ties the single season record at Alabama, which has previously happened five times, including three-straight years from 2011-13. McCleney has now been named an All-American in each of her three seasons at Alabama, including First Team honors as both a sophomore and junior. She is the eighth player in program history to be named an All-American at least three times and, if she were to be named an All-American next season, would become just the fifth four-time All-American at Alabama.
Freshman pitcher Alexis Osorio was named a Second Team All-American and fellow freshman Demi Turner was named a Third Team All-American, marking the first time in program history that two freshmen have both been named All-Americans. Sophomore Marisa Runyon earns her first All-American nod, earning a spot on the Third Team along with Turner.
This year, McCleney earned All-SEC accolades for the third straight season and was also named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She leads the team with a .453 batting average while also drawing a league-leading 57 walks. Her .596 on-base percentage is currently a season record at Alabama, surpassing Kayla Braud's previous record of .564. McCleney also holds Alabama career records in on-base percentage (.563) and batting average (.454).
This season, Osorio was named the SEC Freshman of the Year, the first for Alabama since Kayla Braud in 2010, and was also named to the First Team All-SEC, SEC All-Freshman and SEC All-Tournament teams. The Riverside, Calif., native led the Alabama pitching staff with 21 wins this season, posting an SEC-leading 1.60 ERA in conference play. She was the only pitcher to surpass 100 strikeouts in conference play, 67 of which were swinging, while holding SEC opponents to a .186 batting average. She was one of three finalists for the NFCA Freshman of the Year Award.
Runyon earns her first career All-American nod, as she was also named Second Team All-SEC earlier this year. An incredibly productive second half of the season gave her a team-leading 24 home runs and 79 RBI. Her RBI total ties Charlotte Morgan's single season school record and marks just the fourth time in program history a player has drove in at least 70 runs in a season. She has hit multiple home runs in four different games this season, becoming the only player in program history to do so. Her three home runs against Arkansas on May 2 tied a single-game school record while her seven RBI against Tennessee on April 25 was just the fifth time an Alabama player has hit at least seven RBI in a game, the first since 2008.
Turner, who was also named Second Team All-SEC, ranks among the top 10 in the SEC in batting average (.432) and hits (80) while leading the league with 11 sacrifice bunts. Her 26 multi-hit games leads the team this season, as she has earned a hit in 44 of her 58 starts. She was named SEC Freshman of the Week twice this season, a feat only accomplished by four other players in program history.
