Five CAC Softball Players Named NFCA All-America
Five CAC softball players have been honored as All-America selections by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), announced Wednesday night at the Division III Championship Awards Banquet at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va.
Four players earned first team recognition - the Salisbury trio of seniors Kim Dorsey, Paige Knussman, and Molly Simpson, along with Christopher Newport senior Scoop Simon. Frostburg State junior Hannah Tavik earned third team recognition.
Dorsey earns her third All-American honor with the award, just the fifth Sea Gull to accomplish that feat, as she has been one of the top power hitters and defensive shortstops in the nation over the past three seasons. The Baltimore native hit .473 to lead the team this year, also bashing 10 home runs, while scoring 38 runs and driving in 59, which ranks fifth in the nation.
Simpson, who was also named the CAC Player of the Year, earns her first All-American honor, after a season in which she led the country in home runs through the latter parts of the regular season. The 14 home runs she finished with currently rank fourth in the country, as she batted .444 with 12 doubles and her 55 RBI rank ninth in Division III softball.
Knussman is a two-time All-American, earning first-team accolades in 2014, as well. She hit .434 this year with 28 extra-base hits including 16 doubles and 11 home runs. The 11 long balls rank 14th nationally, while her 51 runs batted in are good for 18th in the country.
CNU's Simon, a first team All-CAC honoree, led the Captains to a 35-9 record this season and a 10th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. She led the Captains in 11 different offensive categories this season, recording team highs in home runs (9), hits (58), runs (43), runs batted in (51), doubles (15), triples (3), total bases (106) and walks (32). She also led the squad in batting average (.450), slugging percentage (.822), and on base percentage (.570).
FSU's Tavik was selected to the All-American Third Team as a utility player. As a hitter, Tavik finished the year first on the roster in batting average (.444), slugging percentage (.674), RBI (49), hits (64) and runs (31). In the conference, she ended the season first in total hits, while finishing fourth in batting average and fifth in RBI. She ranked 14th in all of Division III in sacrifice flies (4), 25th in RBI and 53rd in RBI per game (1.11). In the circle, Tavik finished with a 13-2 overall record, pitching 90.0 innings with a 2.88 ERA. She finished fourth in the CAC and topped the Bobcat roster with 86 strikeouts. She also threw three shutouts and allowed only 37 earned runs.