Jan. 31, 2005
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech softball standout Jessica Sallinger was named to the initial watch list for the 4th Annual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award, announced on Friday afternoon by the Amateur Softball Association. Florida State’s Jessica van der Linden was the award’s recipient last season.
“We’re proud of Jessica for earning such an honor,” said head coach Ehren Earleywine. “When you look at that list of players and see Jessica there by them, you realize how special she is. As far as I’m concerned, she should’ve been on the list every year. Maybe if she played in the Pac-10 she would have. Regardless, she will have another great season this spring, but we cannot rest everything on her shoulders. She is only one of nine players on the field and if the past three years have proven anything, it would be that you can’t get to the World Series without a total team effort.”
Sallinger enters her senior season needing just 13 strikeouts to become the all-time strikeout leader in the Atlantic Coast Conference. She surpassed the 1,000-strikeout plateau last season and stands at 1,025. Sallinger finished 2004 eighth in the nation in stikeouts per game (10.23), ninth in wins (31) and 16th in earned run average (0.82). She set Tech single-season records in wins, ERA, strikeouts (351), shutouts (15), no-hitters (3) and consecutive scoreless innings pitched (39.2).
The Kennesaw, Ga., native earned All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season and All-Southeast Region first team honors for the second time in her career (2002) last season. She became the third Tech player to garner All-America honors, named to the NFCA All-America third team and was the recipient of the team’s Most Valuable Pitcher and Player Awards in ’04.
The watch list is comprised of 40 players that represent 23 colleges and 10 different Conferences. A list of 25 finalists will be announced on April 5. A player does not have to be on the watch list to be considered for the top 25. But once the Top 25 is named the remaining finalist must be pared down from that list.
Just days before the start of postseason play, a list of 10 finalists will be named and released on May 10th. The three finalists will be announced May 31st. The winner of the 2005 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced at the 2005 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.
2005 USA Softball Player of the Year Candidates
Monica Abbott – Tennessee (Salinas, CA) – Sophomore
Kelly Anderson – California (Woodland, CA) – Junior
Caitlin Benyi – UCLA (Scottsdale, AZ) – Junior
Gina Carbonatto – Pacific (Lake Stevens, WA) – Sophomore
Kasi Carroll – Georgia (Norris City, IL) – Sophomore
Meredith Cervenka – Long Beach State (La Crescenta, CA) – Senior
Autumn Champion – Arizona (Tustin, CA) – Junior
Megan Ciolli – Notre Dame (Terre Haute, IN) – Senior
Christina Clark – Fresno State (Santa Ana, CA) – Junior
Ashley Courtney – Alabama (Vero Beach, FL) – Senior
Sara Dean – Auburn (Valencia, CA) – Senior
Norrelle Dickson – Oklahoma (Orange, CA) – Sophomore
Andrea Duran – UCLA (Selma, CA) – Junior
Vicky Galindo – California (Union City, CA) – Junior
Amy Harre – Southern Illinois at Carbondale (Nashville, IL) Senior
Camille Harris- LSU (Hendersonville, TN) – Junior
Alicia Hollowell – Arizona (Suisun, CA) Junior
Casey Hunter – Florida State (Millstadt, IL) – Senior
Vanessa Iapala – Oregon State (San Diego, CA) – Junior
Kami Keiter – Oklahoma (Arvada, CO) Senior
Oli Keohohou – Long Beach State (Newbury, CA) Senior
Leslie Klein – LSU (Sunrise, FL) – Sophomore
Lauren Lappin – Stanford (Anaheim, CA) – Junior
Dominique Lastrapes – Washington (Mission Viejo, CA) – Sophomore
Jodie Legaspi – UCLA (Garden Grove, CA) Sophomore
Caitlin Lowe – Arizona (Tustin, CA) Sophomore
Jessica Merchant – Michigan (Wayland, MI) – Senior
Brooke Mitchell – Louisiana Lafayette (Pasadena, TX) – Senior
Nicole Motycka – Michigan (Sarasota, FL) – Senior
Ani Nyhus – Oregon (White Rock, B.C., Canada) – Senior
Cat Osterman – Texas (Houston, TX) Junior
Jackie Rinehart – Stanford (Reno, NV) – Sophomore
Kristen Rivera – Washington (Perris, CA) – Senior
Jessica Sallinger – Georgia Tech (Kennesaw, GA) – Senior
Heather Scaglione – Oklahoma (San Diego, CA) – Senior
Jamie Southern – Fresno State (Clovis, CA) Senior
Kristina Thorson – California (Lake Forest Park, WA) Sophomore
Stephanie Van Brakle – Alabama (Chambersburg, PA) Junior
Kim Wendland – Georgia (Rock Island, IL) Senior
Veronica Wootson – Florida State (Fontana, CA)
-GT SOFTBALL-
