Volpe, Young Collect All-America Hardware from NFCA
5/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- On the eve of the University of Michigan's sixth Women's College World Series appearance, two Wolverine players earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America honors Wednesday (May 22). Senior third baseman Stefanie Volpe (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth-Salem HS) was named NFCA All-America second team at third base, while junior Marissa Young (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS) was tabbed as a NFCA All-America third-team selection as a pitcher.
For Volpe, the selection is the second of her career after earning All-America third-team distinction as a designated player in 2000. Young's selection is the second of her career and first as a pitcher after being named to the All-America third team as a utility player in her freshman campaign (2000).
Volpe is enjoying a career season as a senior and enters the WCWS with career bests in batting average (.408), runs (54), home runs (11), runs batted in (46), slugging percentage (.697), walks (51), on-base percentage (.463) and stolen bases (19). Volpe leads the Wolverines in each of those categories except RBI, where is she trails Monica Schock (Rialto, Calif./Eisenhower HS) by one. Volpe's 11 home runs are the second-best total in school history behind the 13 hit by Melissa Gentile (1997-2000) in 1998, while her 51 walks are a single-season Michigan record. Volpe finished the regular season leading the Big Ten in both slugging and on-base percentage.
Young has also put together a season for the record books, blowing away her own single-season strikeout record (185) with 311 K's on the season entering the WCWS, including a career-best 16, the second-best single-game mark in Michigan history, against Canisius (May 16) in NCAA Regional action. During her record-setting junior campaign Young eclipsed the Michigan career mark of 602 set by former three-time All-America Sara Griffin (1995-98), and she enters the WCWS with 660 career strikeouts. Young also tossed her first perfect game and the third in Michigan history with in a 9-0, six-inning win over Utah State on Feb. 16.
Young and Volpe's All-America honors were preceded by All-Great Lakes first-team selections at pitcher and third base, respectively. The pair was joined on the All-Great Lakes team by second-team selections Kelsey Kollen (Cerritos, Calif./Santa Ana Mater Dei HS) at second base and Schock at catcher.
The 11th-ranked Wolverines open up WCWS action tomorrow (Thursday, May 23, 6 p.m. CDT) as the No. 6 seed against No. 3 seed Arizona State on ESPN2. An audio broadcast will air locally on WSDS (1480 AM) and be streamed live on MGoBlue.com.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
