May 3, 2006
PLANO, Texas - UT Arlington junior designated player Courtni Anderson led a group of six Mavericks to be named to the 2006 All-Southland Conference Softball Team Wednesday.
The Mesquite native is the first UTA player since Katy Cox (2001) to be named to the first-team squad and the 23rd all-time.
Senior outfielder Autumn Petrino and pitcher Jill Garro were named to the second-team squad. They were joined by sophomore outfielder Katie Jones.
The third team was represented by first baseman Dee Jay Nelson and sophomore pitcher Laura Jones and senior second baseman Jenna Fortune was named to the honorable mention squad.
"I thought we were well represented on the team," said UTA Head Softball Coach Debbie Nichols-Hedrick. "We've had a good season. We are young in a lot of positions, but I thought we played hard for the most part."
Petrino ranks third on the career RBI list with 100 and is the all-time leader with 47 career doubles. Her 18 extra base hits this season ties for third in a single season. She was named to the 2003 Southland Conference Postseason Tournament Team after hitting a walk-off grand slam as a freshman against Nicholls State to propel the Mavericks to the championship game. She is on the second-team squad for the second straight season and the third time she has earned postseason honors after being named to the honorable mention list after her freshman season.
Garro (16-12) ranks among the top pitchers in UTA history. A third-team all-SLC pick as a junior and second-team as a freshman, Garro has a career record of 54-59. She is fifth in career innings pitched with 682.0, fourth with 54 wins and third in career strikeouts with 534.
Jones leads the Mavs in batting average with a .356 average. She ranks second on the team with 53 hits and 11 doubles and is third on the squad with 26 RBI.
Nelson and Fortune have tied the school's single-season record for home runs with seven each. Nelson is batting .329 with 34 RBI. Her 34 RBI is two behind the single-season record of 36 set by Lisa Verheul in 1999.
Sophomore pitcher Laura Jones emerged as one of the SLC's top pitchers. She has allowed a league-low four homes, 25 earned runs and 17 walks this season.
UTSA landed a total of eight all-conference selections followed by six from UT Arlington. Nicholls State and McNeese State each secured four apiece, while Northwestern State and Texas State tallied three. Stephen F. Austin had an all-conference pick on the first and third team, while Sam Houston State had two selections on the third team, followed by Louisiana-Monroe with one player named to the third team.
- utamavs.com -
