Three Wolverines Named to NFCA All-America Teams
5/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- On the eve of sixth-ranked Michigan softball's seventh Women's College World Series appearance, three Wolverines were recognized as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Americans tonight (Wednesday, May 26). Junior shortstop Jessica Merchant (Wayland, Mich./Wayland HS) and junior pitcher Nicole Motycka (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney HS) were honored as second-team selections, while sophomore second baseman Tiffany Haas (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei HS) was tabbed as a third-team honoree. The All-America consideration is the first of each player's career.
The three All-Americans are the most for a Wolverine team since the 1999 team also sported three. The most Michigan players to earn All-America distinction in the same season was the four selected following the 1998 season when the Maize and Blue matched a school record with 56 wins and a fifth-place finish at the WCWS.
Merchant has paced the Wolverine run production for much of the season and owns team highs in home runs (15), RBI (48) and slugging percentage (.728) while becoming the first Michigan shortstop to garner an All-America honor. The junior's 15 home runs is a Michigan single-season record despite her missing six total games and playing sparingly in two others after suffering an ankle injury at Iowa on April 18. Her slugging percentage plus on-base percentage is an amazing 1.155.
An at-large selection as a pitcher, Motycka emerged as the Michigan staff ace this season after two seasons under the wing of former All-American Marissa Young (2000-03). Motycka became just the fourth pitcher in Michigan history to win 20 games in multiple seasons when the Florida native struck out 10 and tossed a complete-game shutout victory over second-ranked Florida State on May 8. The shutout over Florida State was not the only time she came up big in a big game as evidenced by her career-best 13-strikeout performance in a 3-1 win at Big Ten rival Iowa on April 18.
Haas cemented herself as one of the elite infielders in the nation when she earned NCAA Region 6 MVP honors this past weekend while leading the Wolverines to their seventh regional championship. The California native hit .533 with six RBI and two game-winning home runs, including a three-run shot in the fifth inning of Michigan's 3-2 win over Oregon State in the winner's bracket final. Haas enters her first career WCWS leading the Wolverines in average (.350), hits (71), runs (49) and walks (29) and is tied with Merchant for the team lead in on-base percentage (.427).
The three honorees were eligible for All-America distinction after being named to the All-Great Lakes Region first team late last week. Michigan's other All-Region first-team selection was senior co-captain Meghan Doe (Tucson, Ariz./Sabino HS), who hit .315 this season as the everyday centerfielder. Sophomore pitcher Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) closed out the Wolverine all-region honorees on the second team.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
