Photo by: Red Box Pictures
Huskies Garner 11 Season-Ending Awards From Pac-12
May 11, 2018 | Softball
SAN FRANCISCO - The #5 Washington Huskies earned 11 awards from the Pac-12 today, taking home seven All-Pac-12 awards, two All-Defensive awards, and an All-Freshman award in addition to Sis Bates' Defensive Player of the Year win. Seven different Huskies were honored by the conference. Bates, Taran Alvelo, Kelly Burdick, Julia DePonte, Gabbie Plain, Kirstyn Thomas, and Taylor Van Zee all earned at least one award, with Bates, Plain, and Van Zee all earning multiple.
Washington's five All-Pac-12 First Team awards are the most in school history. The seven total All-Pac-12 awards are its most since 2014. Washington has had more than seven All-Pac-12 winners just five times since 2000. The duo of Alvelo and Plain become the fourth pair of Husky pitchers to each be named to the All-Pac-12 First Team in program history, joining Jamie Graves and Jennifer Spediacci (1999, 2000) and Graves and Eve Gaw (1998).
In addition to her Defensive Player of the Year award, Bates was also named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and the All-Defensive team. Bates led the Huskies and was second in the Pac-12 with a .400 batting average this season, the 12th time in Husky history a hitter has had an average at or above .400. Bates earned a Pac-12 Player of the Week award on March 26 and set new single-season highs in almost every offensive category. She committed just two errors all year at shortstop and has already recorded two 60-hit seasons. The California native was named to the Pac-12's All-Freshman team last season.
Van Zee earned All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Defensive awards after a senior season that saw her hit over .360 for the third time in her four seasons. Van Zee committed one error all season, good for a .992 fielding percentage at third base. She also hit 17 doubles to give her 62 in her career, making Van Zee the second Husky ever to record 60+ doubles. The senior had eight home runs, a new single-season high, and her fourth season with 60+ hits, becoming the eighth active player in the NCAA with 250+ career hits. This was the third All-Pac-12 award in Van Zee's career, in addition to an All-Freshman nod in 2015.
After three Pac-12 Freshman of the Week awards and multiple 20+ inning scoreless streaks, Plain was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Freshman team. Plain became the ninth Husky freshman ever to win 15+ games, going 16-4, and needs just five more strikeouts to become the tenth Husky ever with 150 in her freshman season. Twice Plain has struck out double-digit batters in a game, including a 13-strikeout game at UNLV that was the most by a Husky freshman since Danielle Lawrie in 2006. Plain also became the second Husky freshman and fourth Washington pitcher to throw a perfect game when she blanked Utah on April 7.
This is the second year in a row that Alvelo has been named to the All-Pac-12 First Team. This season, Alvelo carried a sub-1.00 ERA for almost the entire season and struck out 200+ batters once again, becoming one of six Huskies ever with multiple 200-strikeout seasons. The junior finished the season second in the Pac-12 in opponent's batting average at .139 and third in strikeouts with 219. She won 20+ games for the second year in a row, starting the season undefeated in her first 16 appearances. Alvelo also became the only Husky in history to record a win in each of her first ten appearances thanks in part to a career-long 31.1-inning scoreless streak.
Burdick was named to the All-Pac-12 Second Team, the first All-Pac-12 award in her career. Three times this season Burdick recorded a hitting streak of six or more games, including a career-long nine-game streak. The senior had a .363 batting average overall, a career high mark that gave her four seasons in a row over .330. Burdick also more than doubled her previous career high for stolen bases, swiping 19 in 20 attempts. Only two players in the Pac-12 had more steals on the season. In the field, Burdick did not commit an error at all in the regular season, pushing her streak to 66 consecutive games without an error in centerfield.Â
DePonte's All-Pac-12 First Team award is the first such honor of her career and comes after career highs in runs, home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage. She hit 14 homers this season, helping her become the 13th Husky ever with 30+ homers. That mark included six homers in Pac-12 play, the second-most in the conference. DePonte also drove in 17 runs during conference play, one of only ten players in the Pac-12 to do so this year. She became the third active Husky with 150 career hits and was twice named Pac-12 Player of the Week.
Thomas' All-Pac-12 Third Team award comes on the heels of a powerful senior season, with the Texas native tying the Husky record for fewest games to double-digit home runs in a season. Thomas was named the ESPNW National Player of the Week early in the year and helped Washington to its first-ever undefeated record in non-conference play with a .462/.519/.945 mark in those 29 games. She led the Huskies with 50 RBI in the regular season and, with one more run scored, would become the first Husky with 50 runs and 50 RBI in the same season since Ali Aguilar and Kimberlee Souza two years ago. Thomas' season 12 multi-RBI games, including a six-game streak with multiple RBI in every game.
The postseason begins next week for the Huskies, with the selection show for NCAA Regionals will be this Sunday, May 13 at 7:00 pm on ESPN 2.
Make sure to follow Husky softball on Twitter with the username @UWSoftball and on Instagram at uwsoftball.
Washington's five All-Pac-12 First Team awards are the most in school history. The seven total All-Pac-12 awards are its most since 2014. Washington has had more than seven All-Pac-12 winners just five times since 2000. The duo of Alvelo and Plain become the fourth pair of Husky pitchers to each be named to the All-Pac-12 First Team in program history, joining Jamie Graves and Jennifer Spediacci (1999, 2000) and Graves and Eve Gaw (1998).
In addition to her Defensive Player of the Year award, Bates was also named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and the All-Defensive team. Bates led the Huskies and was second in the Pac-12 with a .400 batting average this season, the 12th time in Husky history a hitter has had an average at or above .400. Bates earned a Pac-12 Player of the Week award on March 26 and set new single-season highs in almost every offensive category. She committed just two errors all year at shortstop and has already recorded two 60-hit seasons. The California native was named to the Pac-12's All-Freshman team last season.
Van Zee earned All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Defensive awards after a senior season that saw her hit over .360 for the third time in her four seasons. Van Zee committed one error all season, good for a .992 fielding percentage at third base. She also hit 17 doubles to give her 62 in her career, making Van Zee the second Husky ever to record 60+ doubles. The senior had eight home runs, a new single-season high, and her fourth season with 60+ hits, becoming the eighth active player in the NCAA with 250+ career hits. This was the third All-Pac-12 award in Van Zee's career, in addition to an All-Freshman nod in 2015.
After three Pac-12 Freshman of the Week awards and multiple 20+ inning scoreless streaks, Plain was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Freshman team. Plain became the ninth Husky freshman ever to win 15+ games, going 16-4, and needs just five more strikeouts to become the tenth Husky ever with 150 in her freshman season. Twice Plain has struck out double-digit batters in a game, including a 13-strikeout game at UNLV that was the most by a Husky freshman since Danielle Lawrie in 2006. Plain also became the second Husky freshman and fourth Washington pitcher to throw a perfect game when she blanked Utah on April 7.
This is the second year in a row that Alvelo has been named to the All-Pac-12 First Team. This season, Alvelo carried a sub-1.00 ERA for almost the entire season and struck out 200+ batters once again, becoming one of six Huskies ever with multiple 200-strikeout seasons. The junior finished the season second in the Pac-12 in opponent's batting average at .139 and third in strikeouts with 219. She won 20+ games for the second year in a row, starting the season undefeated in her first 16 appearances. Alvelo also became the only Husky in history to record a win in each of her first ten appearances thanks in part to a career-long 31.1-inning scoreless streak.
Burdick was named to the All-Pac-12 Second Team, the first All-Pac-12 award in her career. Three times this season Burdick recorded a hitting streak of six or more games, including a career-long nine-game streak. The senior had a .363 batting average overall, a career high mark that gave her four seasons in a row over .330. Burdick also more than doubled her previous career high for stolen bases, swiping 19 in 20 attempts. Only two players in the Pac-12 had more steals on the season. In the field, Burdick did not commit an error at all in the regular season, pushing her streak to 66 consecutive games without an error in centerfield.Â
DePonte's All-Pac-12 First Team award is the first such honor of her career and comes after career highs in runs, home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage. She hit 14 homers this season, helping her become the 13th Husky ever with 30+ homers. That mark included six homers in Pac-12 play, the second-most in the conference. DePonte also drove in 17 runs during conference play, one of only ten players in the Pac-12 to do so this year. She became the third active Husky with 150 career hits and was twice named Pac-12 Player of the Week.
Thomas' All-Pac-12 Third Team award comes on the heels of a powerful senior season, with the Texas native tying the Husky record for fewest games to double-digit home runs in a season. Thomas was named the ESPNW National Player of the Week early in the year and helped Washington to its first-ever undefeated record in non-conference play with a .462/.519/.945 mark in those 29 games. She led the Huskies with 50 RBI in the regular season and, with one more run scored, would become the first Husky with 50 runs and 50 RBI in the same season since Ali Aguilar and Kimberlee Souza two years ago. Thomas' season 12 multi-RBI games, including a six-game streak with multiple RBI in every game.
The postseason begins next week for the Huskies, with the selection show for NCAA Regionals will be this Sunday, May 13 at 7:00 pm on ESPN 2.
Make sure to follow Husky softball on Twitter with the username @UWSoftball and on Instagram at uwsoftball.
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