BATON ROUGE — A trio of LSU softball players earned 2006 Easton All-America honors, tied for the second most of any school on the list, as selected by Easton-Bell Sports it was announced on Wednesday.
Senior Lauren Castle and juniors Emily Turner and Leslie Klein were all selected to the second team. It marks the third Easton All-America honor for Castle, who was a second-team selection last year and a third-team selection as a sophomore. It is the second Easton All-America award for Klein, who also earned second-team honors as a freshman in 2004. Turner earned the honor for the first time in her career.
With three All-American selections, the Tigers were behind only UCLA, which had five All-Americans on the three teams. LSU tied with five other schools with three selections each, including Southeastern Conference rivals Georgia and Alabama.
A first-team All-Louisiana selection and the Purple and Gold Challenge Most Valuable Player, Castle ranked third on the team this season with a .358 average and finished one walk shy of the LSU single-season record with 37. The designated player ranked in the top 10 in the SEC in batting average, on base percentage, hits, triples and walks. Against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, she tied the LSU single-game record with two home runs in back-to-back at-bats against the Lady Lions.
On two occasions, she came up with the game-winning RBI for the Tigers, including a walk-off single to knock off No. 10 Oklahoma in Norman in extra innings. The Lafayette native finished her LSU career ranked second in batting average and third in on base percentage. In addition, she ranks in the top 10 in career runs scored, hits and walks in just three seasons with the Tigers after transferring prior to her sophomore season.
The USA Softball National Player of the Week on April 18, Turner was a third-team NFCA All-American and first-team All-SEC selection, while also being named to the SEC All-Tournament team. Compiling a 28-9 overall record with a 0.93 earned run average, the junior from Chula Vista, Calif., ranked ninth in the NCAA in earned run average and 14th in wins. In addition, she ranked in the top 10 in the SEC in wins, ERA, saves, strikeouts, strikeouts looking, opponent’s batting average, innings pitched and games started.
Posting a 14-7 record against nationally ranked teams, the Louisiana Pitcher of the Year knocked off 2006 National Champion Arizona in the NCAA Super Regionals, one of only three pitchers to defeat the Wildcats at home this season, and was the only pitcher to defeat No. 5 Alabama twice. She threw 16 complete-game shutouts, second most in LSU single-season history. On two separate occasions this season, she recorded streaks of over 25 consecutive innings without allowing a run.
A third-team NFCA All-American and first-team All-SEC selection, Klein remains the only freshman to earn All-American honors in LSU history. Returning to form after the second ACL surgery on her right knee in the fall of 2004, the junior from Sunrise, Fla., hit .396 for the season with 14 doubles and led the team with four triples, nine home runs and 53 stolen bases. In addition, she recorded 18 stolen bases and did not post an error in 87 chances in center field.
Klein ranks in the top 10 in the SEC in batting average, slugging percentage, runs scored, hits, RBIs, doubles, triples, total bases and stolen bases this season. A Top 25 Finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, she recorded a team-best 12-game hitting streak during the year, which is tied for seventh longest in LSU history. On 12 occasions, she knocked in the game winning runs, including wins over four nationally-ranked teams.
In all, 45 players were named to the 2006 Easton-Bell Sports All-America first, second and third teams from NCAA Division I, II and III schools and NAIA schools. The awards are given to players whose schools are sponsored by Easton-Bell Sports. Players from 23 schools are represented on the Easton-Bell All-America teams.
Easton-Bell Sports 2006 First-Team All-Americans
Caitlin Benyi, UCLA
Christina Clark, Fresno State
Andrea Duran, UCLA
Erin Floros, San Diego State
Ianeta Le’i, BYU
Kellie Middleton, Georgia
Cambria Miranda, Oregon State
Cat Osterman, Texas
Anjelica Selden, UCLA
Jessica Strickland, Colorado State
Kristina Thorson, California
Stephanie VanBrakle, Alabama
Jackie Wong, Utah
Haley Woods, California
Veronica Wootson, Florida State
Easton-Bell Sports 2006 Second-Team All-Americans
Lauren Castle, LSU
Jessica Doucette, Georgia
Whitney Haller, Georgia Tech
Amerra Kesterson, Biola
Leslie Klein, LSU
Jodie Legaspi, UCLA
Megan McAllister, Georgia
Brianne McGowan, Oregon State
Whitney Mollica, Massachusetts
Brittany Rogers, Alabama
Amber Smith, Illinois State
Candice Thomas, Cal Baptist
Tami Trujillo, Cal Baptist
Emily Turner, LSU
Desiree Williams, Texas
Easton-Bell Sports 2006 Third-Team All-Americans
Brandice Balschmiter, Massachusetts
Lauren Cisneros, Creighton
Sonja Garnett, San Francisco State
Alyse Hasty, Delta State
Amy Hosier, Georgia Tech
Natasha Jacob, Florida State
Meagen Johnson, Coastal Carolina
Robin Mackin, Fresno State
Chantal Millard, Cal Baptist
Candice Molinari, Massachusetts
Staci Ramsey, Alabama
Gina Rango, Bowling Green
Tyleen Tausaga, Hawai’i
Megan Willis, Texas
Emily Zaplatosch, UCLA