BATON ROUGE — A pair of LSU softball players earned 2005 Easton All-America honors, as selected by Easton Sports, it was announced on Wednesday.
Junior Lauren Castle was an at-large selection to the second team, while junior Stephanie Hill earned third-team honors at first base. It marked the second Easton All-America honor for Castle, who was a third-team selection last year.
A first-team All-South Region and All-Louisiana selection already this season, Castle tied for the team lead in batting average and led the Tigers in hits. The designated player ranked sixth in the SEC in doubles and tied for the team lead with 19 multiple-hit games and six multiple-RBI games. The Lafayette native broke the LSU single-game record with a 5-for-5 performance against Mississippi State.
For the season, she hit .367 with 62 hits, 26 runs, 14 doubles, two triples, one home run and 25 RBIs. She recorded the second-best overall hitting streak on the team at eight games. Against Mississippi State and Ohio, she tied the LSU single-game record with four runs scored.
A member of the SEC All-Tournament team and a second-team All-Louisiana selection already this year, Hill recorded a .367 average with 62 hits, 26 runs, 12 doubles, seven home runs and 33 RBIs on the season. The Harahan native tied for the team lead in batting average and ranked fourth in the SEC in doubles in league games.
For the season, she recorded 19 multiple-hit games and six multiple-RBI games and had the second-best fielding percentage by a first baseman in =the SEC. Against Kentucky, Arkansas and No. 16 Florida, she knocked in the game-winning runs.
In all, 45 players were named to the 2005 East All-America first, second and third teams from NCAA Division I, II and III schools, NAIA schools and junior colleges.
Easton 2005 All-America Teams
First Team
Name
Position
School
Cat Osterman
P
Texas
Brianne McGowan
P
Oregon State
Jamie Southern
P
Fresno State
Ashley Courteny
C
Alabama
KJ Kelley
C
Massachusetts
Amber Jackson
SS
Bethune-Cookman
Kim Wendland
1B
Georgia
Caitlin Benyi
2B
UCLA
Vicky Galindo
3B
California
Melanie Dorsey
OF
Creighton
Kaleo Eldredge
OF
California
Lindsay James
OF
California
Kristina Thorson
At-Large
California
Anjelica Selden
At-Large
UCLA
Stephanie VanBrakle
At-Large
Alabama
Second Team
Name
Position
School
Michelle Green
P
Georgia
Jessica Sallinger
P
Georgia Tech
Sonja Garnett
P
San Francisco State
Jessica Ortega
C
Mt. San Antonio
Lauren Watson-Perry
C
BYU
Christina Clark
SS
Fresno State
Ianeta Le’I
1B
BYU
Kate Stake
2B
Illinois State
Andrea Thomas
3B
Bethune-Cookman
Liz Perez
OF
West Valley College
Michelle Palazuelo
OF
Mt. San Antonio College
Traci Trujillo
OF
Pasadena City College
Heather Slettvett
At-Large
Mt. San Antonio College
Danni Hall
At-Large
Golden West College
Lauren Castle
At-Large
LSU
Third Team
Name
Position
School
Kelly Anderson
P
California
Krystina Gomez
P
Sacramento City College
Tammy Nielsen
P
Creighton
Nichole Willis
C
Fresno State
Emily Zaplatosch
C
UCLA
Jaci Ecker
SS
Sacramento City College
Stephanie Hill
1B
LSU
Chez Sievers
2B
Texas
Andrea Duran
3B
UCLA
Amy Hosier
OF
Georgia Tech
Tara Harbert
OF
Hawai’i
Liz Sequeira
OF
Long Beach City College
Missy Cross
At-Large
Ohlone
Gina Rango
At-Large
Bowling Green
Stephanie Roberts
At-Large
Colorado State