BATON ROUGE — LSU led the way with four selections to the All-South Region softball teams, as announced Wednesday afternoon by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Seniors Britni Sneed and Trena Peel were named to the first team, while senior April Janzen and sophomore Kristin Schmidt were named to the second team.
A total of 28 players representing 15 schools were selected to either the first or second team. LSU and Louisiana-Lafayette each had four players selected, while the Southeastern Conference led the way among conferences with 12 athletes.
Conference pitchers/players of the year that were not selected to either team were automatically added to the second team.
Sneed, a Houston native, receives this honor after being named the SEC Pitcher of the Year and the SEC Tournament MVP. She holds a record of 31-6 and her ERA of 0.78 ranks in the top 15 in the nation. She has also recorded a school record 433 strikeouts, moving her into fifth place on the NCAA career strikeout list.
Peel was named the SEC Athlete of the Year and an All-Tournament selection.
The Aurora, Colo., native is currently on a 12-game hitting streak, batting at a team-best .376 clip. The national leader in triples, she holds the LSU and SEC single-season records and is just two shy of the NCAA record. She leads the team in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits and stolen bases.
A Second-Team All-SEC selection, Schmidt ranks in the top 20 in the NCAA in ERA and strikeouts per seven innings. She has posted a record of 17-3 this year with 197 strikeouts. On eight occasions, she has struck out 10 or more batters in a game. The Houston native has also thrown a one-hitter and a two-hitter this season as part of her eight shutouts.
Janzen was a Second-Team All-SEC selection after ranking third in the league in fielding percentage by a second baseman. She is currently second on the team in stolen bases and ranks fourth in RBIs, run scored and walks. The Baton Rouge native has recorded four mutliple-RBI games and four three-hit games on the year.
The third-ranked LSU softball team opens NCAA Tournament play as the top seed against sixth-seeded Northwestern State at noon on Thursday at Lady Cajun Park in Lafayette. The winner will advance to play the winner of the Arizona State-Mississippi State game on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The loser will play the loser of the ASU-MSU game in an elimination game on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
In other regional action in Lafayette on Thursday, No. 2-seeded Arizona State and fifth-seeded Mississippi State will face off at 2:30 p.m., while regional host and No. 3-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette will take on fourth-seeded Massachusetts at 5 p.m.
All players selected are now eligible for selection to the 2002 NFCA All-America teams.
NFCA All-South Region First Team
P: Britni Sneed – LSU
P: Shelley Laird – Alabama
C: Adrianna Wilson – Tennessee
1B: Jackie McClain – Alabama
2B: Nikki Jones – Kentucky
3B: Becky McMurtry – Louisiana-Lafayette
SS: Alana Addison – Louisiana-Lafayette
OF: Trena Peel – LSU
OF: Ashley Moore – Auburn
OF: Annie Johnston – Northwestern State
DP: Ashley Courtney – Alabama
UT: Kellie Wilkerson – Mississippi State
NFCA All-South Region Second Team
P: Kristen Schmidt – LSU
P: Beth Alexander – Tennessee-Chattanooga
P: Nicole Neuerburg – SW Texas State
P: Mandy Moskal – Alabama A&M
P: Melissa Coronado – Louisiana-Lafayette
P: Jonelle Csora – Eastern Kentucky
C: Casey Goodman – Louisiana-Monroe
1B: LeeAnne Mongar – Tennessee Tech
2B: April Janzen – LSU
3B: Melissa Ramirez – Tennessee-Chattanooga
SS: Jill Crawford – Tennessee-Chattanooga
OF: Iyhia McMichael – Mississippi State
OF: Jerie Alexander – Louisiana-Lafayette
OF: Kristen Zaleski – SW Texas State
DP: Jennifer Norris – Eastern Kentucky
UT: Leanna Crandall – Belmont