LAFAYETTE, La. — After finishing third at the 2001 NCAA Women’s College World Series, LSU took home three of the top four individual honors on the All-Louisiana Collegiate Softball Team.
LSU head coach Yvette Girouard, in her first season with the Tigers, was named Coach of the Year for the 10th time in her 21-year coaching career, while hurler Britni Sneed was named Player of the Year. First baseman Christy Connor also garnered honors as Newcomer of the Year, while Louisiana-Lafayette second baseman Jill Robertson earned Freshman of the Year honors.
The Lady Cajuns, who advanced to the NCAA Regional at Baton Rouge championship game against the Tigers, placed the most players on the squad with five first-team honorees and eight selections overall. LSU recorded three-first team honorees and seven award-winners total.
Sneed posted a 36-7 record with 16 shutouts and a 0.66 ERA during the season and set both LSU and Southeastern Conference single-season records with her strikeout total through the Women’s College World Series. During the year, she was ranked nationally in ERA, victories, and strikeouts per seven innings and was involved in five no-hitters. She was one of only two unanimous selections to the All-Louisiana squad.
Connor made an immediate impact for the Tigers at first base during her first season after transferring from Texas-San Antonio. The Katy, Texas, native, batted .314 and added 12 doubles and 41 RBIs, while being named to the All-SEC Tournament Team.
The dean of Louisiana softball coaches, Girouard worked through her first season at LSU in 2001 after moving from Louisiana-Lafayette and continued her winning ways in Baton Rouge. She collected her 10th Louisiana Coach of the Year trophy after leading LSU to a 59-11 record and a third-place finish at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla. She also recorded the 800th win of her collegiate career and guided LSU to its highest national ranking of No. 3.
Robertson, who was also a first-team honoree on the team, batted .303 with 20 RBIs in her first collegiate season and was 18-of-23 on the basepaths for the Lady Cajuns. The Lafayette native, who earned All-Sun Belt Conference and SBC Freshman of the Year honors, blasted a three-run home run over eventual-national champion Arizona to help Louisiana-Lafayette hand the Wildcats one of only four losses this season.
Sneed was joined on the All-Louisiana first team by two of her outfield teammates in junior Trena Peel and senior Dee Douglas. Louisiana-Lafayette was represented by Robertson, pitcher Melissa Coronado, first baseman Jana Mower, shortstop Alana Addison and outfielder Jerie Alexander.
Sneed, Douglas and Northwestern State’s Erin Mancuso were All-Louisiana first-team honorees in 2000 as well.
After posting a 35-9 mark, Coronado set a new school single-season victory record on the way to Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week and All-SBC first-team honors. The Houston native also tossed a Lady Cajun-best 200 strikeouts with a 1.52 ERA.
Completing the first-team battery, Louisiana-Monroe catcher Casey Goodman received top honors after hitting .280 with six home runs and 33 RBIs. The Bakersfield, Calif., native was also an All-Southland Conference first-team selection.
Going around the infield, Mower returned to the All-Louisiana first team at first base after a second-team designation in 2000. This season, Mower batted .344 with eight home runs, 15 doubles and 40 RBIs. The Olathe, Kan., native also broke the school career record for RBIs and batted .443 in SBC contests.
Addison enjoyed a record-breaking season in 2001 at shortstop and captured eight of nine first-team votes. The 2001 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Addison batted .416 with 15 home runs and a school single-season record 79 RBIs. She also won the league’s Triple Crown and ranked among the conference’s leaders in seven offensive categories. The Gonzales native was recently named an All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and Louisville Slugger.
Third baseman Brandy Davis of Grambling State was the only non-Louisiana-Lafayette player recognized in the first-team infield. Davis, who captured All-Southwestern Athletic Conference and SWAC Player of the Year honors, batted. 451 with 43 RBIs and five doubles.
While the Lady Cajuns dominated the infield, LSU owned the outfield in the form of Peel and Douglas. Douglas collects All-Louisiana first-team honors for the third consecutive season after hitting .325 with 17 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. In addition, the LaMarque, Texas, native was a catalyst at the top of the lineup for the Tigers and earned All-SEC second team and All-SEC Tournament honors.
Peel finished second on the Tigers with a .337 batting average and was more than 60 points higher in SEC play. The Aurora, Colo., native also ended the regular season on a 12-game hitting streak and finished second on the team with nine home runs and 44 RBIs.
Louisiana-Lafayette’s Alexander was the leading vote-getter in the outfield after hitting .379 with 36stolen bases. Alexander reached base safely in all but six games during the 2001 season and led the team and Sun
Belt Conference in runs and stolen bases. Already the school’s all-time leading run scorer, Alexander also recorded three hitting streaks during the season of at least 10 games.
A year after being recognized on the All-Louisiana first team at first base, Mancuso returns to the postseason squad but as a designated player.
Mancuso, a 2001 All-Southland Conference first team honoree, batted .323 with six home runs and 25 RBIs to help lead the Demons to the SLC Tournament championship game.
The second team included pitchers Ashley Lewis of LSU, Micah Barbato of Louisiana-Lafayette and Amanda Ortego of Northwestern State, catcher Jennifer Schuelke of LSU, first baseman Erin Palomarez of Northwestern State, second basemen Kristy Dietz of Louisiana Monroe and April Janzen of LSU, third baseman Summar Lapeyrouse of Louisiana-Lafayette and outfielders Annie Johnston of Northwestern State, Crystal Moody of Southern and Missy Martin of Louisiana-Lafayette and designated player Brooke Ponder of Centenary.
The team was chosen on nominations submitted by the sports information directors of the softball schools and then voted on by the SIDs throughout the state.
2001 All-Louisiana Collegiate Softball Team
As Selected by Louisiana Sports Writers Association
FIRST TEAM (Numbers in parenthesis are vote totals)
P * Britni Sneed, LSU (18) Jr. Houston, Texas 36-6, 0.66 ERA, 410 K
P Melissa Coronado, Louisiana-Lafayette (13) Jr. Houston, Texas 35-9, 1.52 ERA, 200K
C Casey Goodman, Louisiana-Monroe (12) Soph. Bakersfield, Calif. .280, 6 HR, 33 RBI
1B Jana Mower, Louisiana-Lafayette (11) Sr. Olathe, Kan. .344, 8 HR, 40 RBI
2B Jill Robertson, Louisiana-Lafayette (17) Fr. Lafayette, La. .303, 2 HR, 20 RBI
3B Brandy Davis, Grambling State (11) Soph. Los Angeles, Calif. .451, 43 RBI, 5 doubles
SS Alana Addison, Louisiana-Lafayette (17) Jr. Gonzales, La. .416, 15 HR, 79 RBI
OF Jerie Alexander, Louisiana-Lafayette (17) Jr. Columbia, Tenn. .379, 60 runs, 36-42 SB
OF Trena Peel, LSU (13) Jr. Aurora, Colo. .337, 9 HR, 44 RBI
OF Dee Douglas, LSU (12) Sr. LaMarque, Texas .325, 17 RBI, 34-41 SB
DP * Erin Mancuso, Northwestern State (18) Jr. Sugarland, Texas .323, 6 HR, 25 RBI
* Unanimous selection
Player of the Year –Britni Sneed, LSU (5)
Also receiving votes: Alana Addison, Louisiana-Lafayette, 3; Lori Tande, Louisiana-Monroe, 1.
Newcomer of the Year — Christy Connor, LSU (6)
Also receiving votes: Annie Johnston, Northwestern State, 1; Brandy Neal, Southeastern Louisiana, 1; Brooke Ponder, Centenary, 1.
Freshman of the Year — Jill Robertson, Louisiana-Lafayette (6)
Also receiving votes: Natalie Brown, Grambling State, 1; Jordan Lansdale, Centenary, 1; Emily Stelly, Southeastern Louisiana, 1.
Coach of the Year — Yvette Girouard, LSU (5)
Also receiving votes: Stefni Whitton-Lotief, Louisiana-Lafayette, 2; Vanessa Johnson, Grambling State, 1; Pete Langlois, Southeastern Louisiana, 1.
SECOND TEAM (Numbers in parenthesis are vote totals)
P Ashley Lewis, LSU (10) Sr. Baton Rouge, La. 21-5, 1.02 ERA, 155 K
P Micah Barbato, Louisiana-Lafayette (4) Jr. Lafayette, La. 16-1, 1.26 ERA, 54 K
P Amanda Ortego, Northwestern State (4) Soph. Denham Springs, La. 19-9, 1.52 ERA, 199 K
C Jennifer Schuelke, LSU (8) Sr. Houston, Texas .235, 2 HR, 21 RBI
1B Erin Palomarez, Northwestern State (6) Soph. Tucson, Ariz. .320, 7 HR, 27 RBI
2B Kristy Dietz, Louisiana-Monroe (5) Sr. Pasadena, Texas .296, 9 RBI, 7 doubles
2B April Janzen, LSU (5) Jr. Baton Rouge, La. .275, 4 HR, 14 RBI
3B Summar Lapeyrouse, Louisiana-Lafayette (6) Soph. Lafayette, La. .199, 24 RBI, .952 FLD%
SS Stephanie Hastings, LSU (5) Sr. Houston, Texas .372, 6 HR, 48 RBI
OF Annie Johnston, Northwestern State (9) Jr. Tucson, Ariz. .317, 6 HR, 37-43 SB
OF Crystal Moody, Southern (9) Sr. Stone Mountain, Ga. .317, 4 HR, 17 RBI
OF Missy Martin, Louisiana-Lafayette (7) Jr. Lutcher, La. .307, 8 HR, 46 RBI
DP Brooke Ponder, Centenary (4) Jr. Gustine, Calif. .310, 8 RBI, 4 doubles
HONORABLE MENTION (three or more votes)
C — Katie Meinen, Centenary; Katie Trout, McNeese State. 1B — Christy Connor, LSU. 3B — Rachel Alcorn, Centenary. OF — Heather Dye, Southeastern Louisiana; Janana Snowden, Grambling State. DP — Pam Barragan, Louisiana-Lafayette.