University of Massachusets Athletics
Softball Places Three On NFCA All-Region Teams
May 19, 2005 | Softball
May 19, 2005
AUSTIN, Texas -- Seniors Denise Denis (Middle Grove, N.Y.) and Barb LaFogg (Williamsburg, Mass.) as well as junior KJ Kelley (Rainier, Ore.) have been selected by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association to the All-Northeast Region teams. Kelley and Denis were both first-team picks and will now move on for All-American consideration. LaFogg was a second-team selection.
Kelley was a member of the Atlantic 10 All-Conference team and was also picked to the All-Tournament team. Kelley currently leads the A-10 with a .392 batting average, .785 slugging percentage and a .530 on-base percentage. She is also second in the league with 13 home runs and fourth with 41 RBI. Kelley's slugging percentage is also good for 18th in the country. She is tied for third in the A-10 with 12 doubles, third with 102 total bases and seventh with 51 hits. With a home run in the A-10 Tournament, Kelley tied her own single-season school record. On April 12 at Connecticut, Kelley broke the all-time UMass career home run record and now has 34. She sits in 11th-place all-time at UMass with a .332 batting average, 10th with 109 RBI, third with 83 walks, second with a .648 slugging percentage and ninth with 58 extra-base hits. Her batting average so far in 2005 ranks as the ninth-highest while her RBI tally is the sixth-highest (tying her marks from last year. In addition, her slugging percentage this season is the second-best at UMass. Kelley was a two-time A-10 Player of the Week this year. Kelley compiled 16 multi-hit and 12 multi-RBI games this year.
LaFogg was also a member of the A10 All-Conference team and voted by the league's sports information directors as the Scholar Athlete of the Year. She has compiled a 20-9 record with a 1.99 ERA in the circle. Her ERA and wins total are second-best in the league. LaFogg led the league with 207 strikeouts and held opponents to a .197 batting average. The 207 strikeouts are also the fourth-most in a UMass single season. LaFogg, who has walked just two batters in her last 41 innings pitched, averaged 1.3 K's an inning this year. She has a 4.9 strikeout to walk ratio and struck out the side 19 times. LaFogg capped her senior season by throwing her first career no-hitter on Senior Day, May 8, against Quinnipiac. The only base runner she allowed came via a walk. LaFogg also threw four, one-hit shutouts. On March 31 against Dartmouth, she lost a perfect game on the last batter, but still struck out a career-high 15 batters in that game. The 15 K's was also a UMass Softball Complex record. In her 20 wins, LaFogg had a 0.83 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 117.2 innings. She has posted nine double-digit strikeout games this season.
Denis is having the best year of her career and was also a member of the A-10 All-Conference team and the All-Tournament team. She is currently third in the league with a .374 batting average and second with 43 RBI. In addition, Denis ranks fifth in the A-10 with 11 doubles and 85 total bases. Denis also had 32 runs scored, 49 hits, two triples, seven home runs, a .649 slugging percentage, a .485 on-base percentage and was 8-for-10 (.800) in stolen base attempts. Denis compiled 12 multi-hit and 12 multi-RBI games this season. Her 43 RBI are the third-most in a UMass single-season and she needs just three more to break Kim Gutridge's single-season record (45 in 1998). Denis' seven home runs this year are tied for the ninth-most in a UMass single-season while her nine career long balls are 14th all-time. Denis' .649 slugging percentage in 2005 is the eighth-best in a UMass single-season while her .510 career slugging percentage is tied for sixth-best.
Massachusetts is currently in Austin, Texas to participate in the NCAA Tournament. The Minutewomen will take on No. 4 Texas on Friday night at 7:30 PM Eastern Time. The game will be broadcast on WRNX (100.9 FM) and on the Internet at www.umassathletics.com. Bob Behler and Seth Gerard will have all of the action beginning at 7:15 PM. Mississippi State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi are also in this regional, which is double-elimination.