BATON ROUGE — Three members of the incoming 2007 LSU softball class were named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America first team; it was announced by the organization in late July.
Starla Guffey of Prairieville, Jessica Mouse of Tampa, Fla., and Tiffany Shaw of Shreveport were three of the 16 student-athletes to earn first-team honors.
A two-time NFCA first-team high school All-American, Guffey was also named the Louisiana Sports Writer’s Association’s Class 5A Most Outstanding Softball Player for the second straight season and earned her third straight Louisiana all-state team selection. The catcher from St. Amant High School hit .484 in 2007 with 11 home runs and 43 runs batted in. She was also a member of the Louisiana Softball Coaches Association East-West All-Star game.
While earning the honor for the first time in 2006, Guffey hit .473 as a junior with eight doubles, 15 home runs, 44 RBIs and 40 runs scored. In addition to her prowess at the plate, the daughter of Randy and Delana Guffey threw out 17 of the 25 runners who attempted to steal on her. Guffey led the Gators to Louisiana state championships in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and a state quarterfinal appearance in 2007. The Gators finished the 2006 ranked No. 8 in the nation with a 33-4-1 record.
The second two-time NFCA All-American to sign with the Tigers, Mouse earned third-team All-American honors in 2006 before moving up to the first team this year. The third baseman and catcher led George D. Chamberlain High School to the state semifinals in 2006 and 2006 with record of 28-3 and 26-4 respectively. The Florida Class 5A first-team all-state selection and Hillsborough County Softball Player of the Year, she hit .448 with 20 RBIs, three home runs and 28 runs scored.
The daughter of Tim and Gail Mouse, she moved throughout the world during her childhood as a military child while her dad has served in the United State Air Force. Her older sister, Lyndsay, will be a junior on the on the UNC-Greensboro softball team in 2007. Her uncle, Francis Mouse, played in the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves minor league systems.
In 2004, Tiffany was the only freshman selected to the New Jersey all-state team, earning first-team honors while playing for Northern Burlington High School. Mouse went on to earn New Jersey first-team all-state honors again as a sophomore and Florida first-team all-state honors as a junior.
A two-time first-team all-state selection by both the Louisiana Sports Writer’s Association and the state’s coaches, Shaw holds the Evangel season records for batting average at .757, on-base percentage at .823, runs scored with 51, hits with 53 and stolen bases with 63. Additionally, her season batting average of .757 ranks fifth all-time for high school players nationally, while her career average of .630 also ranks fifth all-time nationally.
Named the Most Valuable Player for her district for the second-straight year and the All-City MVP this past season, Shaw also earned Academic All-District honors. The first female athlete from Evangel Christian Academy to go on to play in the Southeastern Conference, the daughter of Leland and Cindy Shaw was a NFCA All-South Region selection as a junior.